National Women’s Soccer League Strikes a New Live Rights Deal Bringing Matches to CBS Sports, ESPN, Prime Video, and Scripps Sports
Deal adds ESPN family to the fray, Friday night matches on Prime Video, and keeps Championship match on CBS
Story Highlights
On Thursday afternoon, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) announced its new four-year domestic media distribution rights deal, which will expand the league’s reach to CBS Sports, ESPN, Prime Video, and Scripps Sports.
The deal establishes 118 national windows beginning in 2024. That includes packages of matches on CBS broadcast, CBS Sports Network, and streaming on Paramount+, plus a package of matches across the Disney family of networks (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, and streaming on ESPN+. The arrangement also introduces Friday night matches on Prime Video and Saturday doubleheaders on the Scripps’-owned ION network,
“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,” said NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman. “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.”
Additionally, the NWSL Playoffs will be spread across multiple networks. Prime Video and CBS will have the rights to one quarterfinal each, while ESPN/ABC will air the other two quarterfinals. CBS and ESPN/ABC will each have a semifinal. CBS and Paramount+ will remain the exclusive home of the NWSL Championship match. The NWSL playoffs are set to expand in 2024 with the addition of new franchises Bay FC and the Utah Royals.
“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,” said Sean McManus, Chairman, CBS Sports. “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 league is currently in a deal where matches appear solely on CBS, CBS Sports Network, and Paramount+. Adding ESPN, Prime Video, and ION on this deal both increases and diversifies the NWSL’s match distribution domestically.
An official release from the league outlined match rights more specifically:
CBS
- Minimum of 21 Games
- Regular season:
- CBS and Paramount+: Minimum of 10 games per season
- CBS Sports Network: Minimum of 8 games per season
- Playoffs:
- CBS and Paramount+: 1 quarterfinal per season
- CBS and Paramount+: 1 semifinal per season
- CBS and Paramount+: NWSL Championship
- 20 games
- Regular season:
- 17 regular season games per season
- Playoffs:
- 2 quarterfinals per season
- 1 semifinal per season
- 27 games
- Regular season:
- 25 Friday night games per season
- 1 season opening kickoff match
- Playoffs:
- 1 quarterfinal per season
- 50 games
- 25 exclusive Saturday night double-headers on ION, games with 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET starts.
- Weekly studio show leading off each doubleheader Saturday at 7 p.m. ET
- 2024 NWSL Draft