Susanna Dinnage has told the organisation she will not be taking up the position of chief executive. She was named as Richard Scudamore's replacement in November and was due to start early this year.

The 51-year-old go-getter is the Global President for Animal Planet at Discovery TV. She has previously worked as President for Discovery Networks UK and Ireland.

Prior to joining Discovery in January 2009, Dinnage worked for 10 years at Channel Five and she started her career at MTV. She says she wants to stay in television.

In that case, perhaps, she might have been better off applying to Sky, BT, the BBC or ITV to be a sports newscaster and joining the bevy of female front-persons now appearing regularly on our screens.

Tune-in to any major sports programme and you are sure to see a woman either presenting or reporting. That is not a bad thing. As I have said here before, the more the merrier as far as I am concerned. Just as long as they have the knowledge and presence to do the job.

The number of women commenting - or even commentating - on sport played by men, notably football, is burgeoning.

But are some there for their expertise or are they simply eye candy?

They seem a mixture of the good, the bad, but never the ugly.

Some are pretty good. The Grand Dames of television sport, like the brilliant Gabby Logan, Sue Barker and the ubiquitous Clare Balding, are terrific. The Jacquies - the BBC's Oakley and Sky's Beltrao – aren't at all bad either. They all know their stuff.

However, many of the sports presenters, interviewers and match reporters on Sky would not be out of place in a beauty contest line-up. A Sky executive once told me they have at least a dozen applications a day from young girls wanting to be reading the sports news or interviewing the stars.

And there are plenty of female faces on the other channels, too. 

One of the first to do so in football was Kelly Cates (nee Dalglish), the daughter of Sir Kenny and who is highly professional - and much easier to understand than her dad.

As I say, good luck to them. It is a development to applaud - as long as they know what they are talking about...

One who certainly does is the former England women's football star Alex Scott.

After earning rave reviews for her punditry while working for the BBC at last year's World Cup finals in Russia, Sky Sports decided to hire the retired defender for the 2018-2019 campaign.

The 34-year-old - who enjoyed three spells with Arsenal, who she captained, and made 140 appearances for England - replaced another Gunners hero, Thierry Henry, after the World Cup winner left Sky to pursue his now broken dream of becoming a manager.

Appointing a full-time female pundit to analyse men's football was a first for Sky - and their decision to hire Scott was welcomed by most forward-thinking football fans.

Six months into her Sky Sports tenure, most of the feedback about Scott's punditry has been positive.

She more than holds her own with fellow pundits including the ever-belligerent Graeme Souness, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville.

However, Scott's fans jumped to her defence before the Premier League clash between Leicester City and Manchester United, following a somewhat awkward moment involving her and Souness.

Scott was making a point about how more teams are prepared to sit back and then hit their opponents on the counter-attack, when she was interrupted by Souness for repeating the phrase "low block".

"I think teams are now playing a low block with a purpose, to get them on a counter-attack," Scott said.

"It's become a common theme this season. A lot of teams that are playing that low block are willing to have less possession and are hitting teams on the counter-attack…"

Before she could finish making her point, a bemused Souness interrupted and said: "What is a low block? This modern terminology…"

Sounding a little surprised by Souness' interruption, Scott replied: "Defensively, prepared to sit back with a four - maybe even a five - a solid wall…"

Bluntly, Souness added: "Okay. Defending deep."

Sour Souness' dismissive tone led to a backlash against him on social media.

One tweet read: "Why does Graham Souness look p***** off when Alex Scott speaks! 

"She speaks sense and if you don't understand modern terminology then educate yourself ya old dinosaur."

Scott received a wealth of support from fans, with one saying: "You are the best pundit on TV. You don't talk in cliches, have an open mind and a sharp analytical brain.

"In addition your communication skills are first rate."

Another wrote: "You are doing a great job, very refreshing change to the old boys' club.

"Keep up the good work!!"

Scott responded: "I have to say that seeing all the tweets from people supporting my work is a reason to keep the smile, stay positive and keep on keeping on.

"Haters gonna hate, but it's not going to stop me doing what I love #JustSaying #thankyou.

"I'm not out here trying to be better than any male/female.

"There is room for us all to rise! I'm just trying to be the best I can be in the role I am employed to do.

"Have fun along the way, learn from people around me, grow/be better!"

Female influence is not confined to men's football. It is also coming to the fore in the one-time men-only domain of boxing - and not just in the ring.

Anna Woolhouse is now the regular face of Sky's boxing coverage and has attracted a big following among the fight fraternity with her presentation of big nights such as Anthony Joshua's world heavyweight title bouts and her incisive quizzing of Sky's all-male punditry team. 

After several years working at Sky Sports on both Sky Sports News and covering netball, she was offered the opportunity to present boxing. "I'd always been interested in the sport and had always incorporated hitting pads into my personal training so it was a no-brainer from me really, I jumped at the chance," she said.

"The dedication, skill and passion of the fighters are infectious. I can honestly say I haven't witnessed an atmosphere like it at any other sporting event than at fight night. It's become not just about the sport but it's also entertainment.

"I do feel there is a way to go yet until women are considered an equal in sport as yes, it is still an essentially male-dominated field. 

"But in my own personal experience, I haven't been treated any different to my male colleagues and I am immensely proud to work in a team that includes some amazingly talented women - and they're there because they are the best at what they do."

However, she does admit that many of the tweets she received after she fronted London's O2 boxing promotion on Saturday (February 2) concentrated more on her tight black leather trousers than any of the leathering in the ring.

Some men never change.