The top women's sporting events should be on free-to-air TV, just like the men's, says new culture secretary Nicky Morgan.

She has also called on the list of "crown jewel" televised sporting events to include the women's major tournaments.

In her first major address as secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport she told the audience at the Royal Television Society conference that it was her aim to create a level playing field for men's and women's sport.

Morgan said it was important to build on the success of the Women's World Cup in the summer.

“I want to build on this momentum and make sure future generations of female sporting talent can be inspired by who they see on their screens,” she said.

The so-called "crown jewel" events are those aired on channels such as the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, including the World Cup, Wimbledon, Olympics, FA Cup, Six Nations and, most recently, the Cricket World Cup final.

The female counterparts to these events, where they exist, were either not broadcast at all or snapped up by channels with a pay wall.

Morgan said she had written to TV bosses urging them to review the list to enable women's events to have the exposure to mass audiences currently enjoyed by their male counterparts.  

“Where a men’s event is listed, the women’s equivalent would be too," she said.

“This would be an important step in giving female sporting talent the coverage they deserve and putting men’s and women’s sport on an equal footing at last.”

The list of "crown jewel" events is governed by legislation and a voluntary code and signed by the governing bodies of all major sports.

The rights to the events must be offered to free-to-air channels that can be received by at least 95% of the population, guaranteeing that those deemed of national importance reach the widest possible audience.

The secretary of state also said the Government would support Ofcom introducing new rules to make sure free-to-air channels can compete with streaming sites such as Amazon Prime and Netflix.

Morgan has branded the terrestrial channels "victims" of the streaming uprising.

“British broadcasters are central pillars of our public life and their benefits are too great for them to be cast off as a victim of this revolution.

“We need to make sure that regulations – many of which were developed in the analogue age – are fit for the digital age and the new ways that people watch and produce shows." 

Ofcom are launching a review of the public service broadcasting system. This looks at what Channel 4, BBC, ITV and Channel 5 are providing for the public. 

Channels behind a pay wall have started to show more women's sports. It was announced recently that Sky will be airing the women's rugby league final for the first time in the sports history.

You can read a full transcript of her speech here.

UK listed sporting events - live coverage

The Olympics, The Fifa World Cup finals tournament, The FA Cup final, The Scottish FA Cup final (Scotland only), The Grand National, The Derby, The Wimbledon Championship finals, The European Football Championships finals tournament, The Rugby League Challenge Cup final, The Rugby World Cup final. 

UK listed sporting events - highlights

Cricket test matches played in England, non-finals play at Wimbledon, all other matches of the Rugby World Cup, Six Nations rugby tournament matches including the home nations, The Commonwealth Games, The World Athletics Championship, The Cricket World Cup final, semi-finals and matches involving home nations, The Ryder Cup and The Open Gold championship.