The National Women’s Soccer League said it has made deals to have 118 of its games televised by a combination of CBS Sports, ESPN, Amazon Prime Video and Scripps Sports.
Starting in 2024, the NWSL will get a regular Friday-night slot on Prime Video, which has been adding sports on top of Thursday Night Football.
Scripps’s Ion network will air games on Saturday nights. Scripps has been pursuing local and national sports packages and aired the WNBA on Ion.
A package of at league 21 regular-season matches will air on CBS and stream live on Paramount Plus. Additional games will appear on CBS Sports Network.
The Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN will have a package of 17 regular season games appearing on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes. These matches will also stream on ESPN Plus in English and Spanish. ESPN also has English, Spanish and Portuguese-language rights in Latin America.
The NWSL’s remaining games will be available through a direct-to-consumer product produced and distributed by the league.
For the playoffs, Prime Video and CBS have rights to one quarterfinal each. ESPN/ABC will air the other two quarterfinals.
CBS and ABC/ESPN will each have a semifinal game.
CBS will air the NWSL Championship Game in primetime. The game will also stream on Paramount Plus.
Ion will air the NWSL Draft live in January.
“These partnerships fundamentally change the game for our league and the players who take the pitch each week. On behalf of the NWSL, our owners and players, I want to commend CBS Sports, ESPN, Prime Video and Scripps for investing in our league and affirmatively declaring to the marketplace that this league is exciting, valuable, and important,” NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said. “We have taken great care to ensure our games are discoverable by increasing our reach in order to expose new audiences to everything that makes our league special, without compromising the economic value of our product. This is the beginning of our future.”
All of the television rightsholders are making significant commitments to marketing and promoting the NWSL, and will cross-promote each other’s scheduled broadcasts, the league said.
“We’re thrilled to extend our relationship with the NWSL, continuing as the home of the NWSL Championship and offering an expanded slate of matches on CBS as we build on the success of the last four years,” CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus said. “Extending this partnership further demonstrates our commitment to elevating women’s sports as we continue to work hand-in-hand with the NWSL to highlight the world’s best women’s soccer players. As we prepare to present the 2023 NWSL Championship this weekend, we are excited to continue to showcase this league across our platforms for years to come and remain the ultimate destination for soccer fans.”
“The NWSL is among the world's best women’s professional soccer leagues, and we are excited to showcase the league, the clubs, and the incredible athletes to sports fans,” said Rosalyn Durant, executive VP, programming and acquisitions, ESPN. “This agreement further strengthens our leadership position as the home for women’s sports.”
“The evolution of women’s sports — and specifically the NWSL — demonstrates that there is a growing audience for remarkable athletes and world-class competition, regardless of gender,” said Marie Donoghue, VP U.S. sports content & partnerships at Amazon. “With the unique power and distribution of Prime Video, and an exclusive window on Friday nights throughout the season, we look forward to expanding that audience as the newest home of the NWSL.”
“Scripps Sports is pleased to create a franchise night on ION for the NWSL that will reach every American household, across every free television platform and further help expand the league’s fan base with appointment viewing consistency,” said Adam Symson, president and CEO of E.W. Scripps. “We’re proud once again to be a part of a historic distribution agreement that will elevate women’s professional sports, benefitting the league, the teams, their athletes and fans.”
Endeavor’s IMG and WME Sports advised the NWSL and handled the negotiations.
“On behalf of the NWSL, we have secured four game-changing, marquee partnerships that will help send the women’s game to new heights of viewership and fandom, growing domestic revenues for the League at a multiple of over 40 times,” said Hillary Mandel, executive VP, head of Americas, IMG.
“The NWSL’s new line-up of media partners are stepping up with significant rights fees, production investment, top-tier platforms and impactful promotion,“ Mandel said. “In lockstep with the NWSL, they are going to transform the ways in which fans can discover and engage with the games, assuring deserved exposure for these world-class athletes on the broadest stage.”
