The research

The D Word is BCOMS’s flagship conference and research programme on diversity in UK sports media. Held every few years since 2014, it brings senior industry decision-makers together with journalists, academics, EDI experts and emerging talent to review progress and set the agenda for change.

Each edition is built around new BCOMS research measuring representation across broadcast and written sports media. D Word 5, marking BCOMS’s tenth anniversary, was hosted by Chelsea FC at Stamford Bridge in partnership with the Chelsea Foundation.

How bad are things in the sports media?

We looked at 421 broadcast roles across the major broadcasters covering the 2024 UEFA Men’s European Football Championship, 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, 2024 Guiness Men’s Six Nations, 2024 Wimbledon Championships, 2024 Olympic Games and the 2024 Paralympic Games.

• Our research only covered the roles from the exclusive rights holders of the competitions highlighted above

We also looked at 215 written roles covering the 2024 UEFA Men’s European Football Championship, 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, 2024 Guiness Men’s Six Nations, 2024 Wimbledon Championships and the 2024 Olympic Games.

• Our research covered seven national newspapers, while The Athletic were also included in our research on the 2024 UEFA Men’s European Football Championship and 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup

–  Guest writers and columnists were not included in this research