Whoopi Goldberg has a new sports platform for women’s athletics, the All Women’s Sports Network (AWSN). Goldberg, who announced the new venture during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, added: “I am so excited professional women’s sports finally have a true home for their live coverage around the world with CBS Sports and Paramount+. It will be like, ‘If a woman is playing it, we’re covering it’ which has been Goldberg’s goal of getting more visibility for female athletes.
AWSN is inspired by Graham Goldberg’s upbringing. She remembered how, even though her brother participated in different sports as his choice of extra curricular activities, she was often left out of them simply because of her gender. This stuck with her and inspired her to want to see more women in sports. Goldberg in the past has pushed for change, talking about how to create a stage that would demonstrate women playing sports. AWSN came to life partly thanks to her lifelong dream of giving women athletes more exposure.
Goldberg thinks the network will be more than just a place to watch sports, it will be a way to cultivate young female athletes. I was always drawn to sports, she said. My brother was able to play all the sports, while I was not. She wants to help young women in sports starting in high school and continue supporting them as they grow and connect her with a global audience for women’s athletics.
Available in 65 countries, AWSN has access to more than 2 billion people across the world. It provides a venue for live sports streaming and has agreements with leading sporting bodies such as the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL). It has now been launched in countries including Asia, the Middle East as well as India, along with assistance from partners like CommonSpirit and Jungo TV.
AWSN is launching in the United States next week with its first expansion of territory. Goldberg ultimately wants to normalize the way fans see women in sports, allowing for elite level competition to be the only mechanic we concern ourselves with when watching female athletes. Because, as she also puts it: “When athletics are done well, nobody talks about who is doing it.” AWSN strives to promote women’s sports and motivate the future female athletes worldwide.