The NWSL announced a new media rights deal for next year on Tuesday to build on their existing one signed in 2023.
The mid-cycle bump will see more games on CBS Sports and ESPN, and adds Victory+ as a fifth platform. The new deal will start in 2026, after the league expands from 14 to 16 teams with the addition of Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC. It will last through the 2027 season, when the current deal ends. The value of the new rights agreement was not disclosed.
The NWSL previously signed a deal in 2023 that began last year with ESPN, CBS, Prime Video, and Scripps Sports. The four-year, $240 million deal was a big win for the league following its previous three-year, $4.5 million contract with CBS. The NWSL said Tuesday that the deal quadrupled audiences in its first year.
ESPN and ABC will air weekly matches in the regular season and all eight fixtures of the league’s Decision Day, the last day of the regular season when all teams play. The format is returning this season after taking a year off with two games on ESPN and the rest on NWSL+. CBS Sports, which already carries the final, will also get more regular season matches as part of the new deal.
Victory+ is a free streaming platform that grew out of the crumbling RSN system of major league hockey. The platform was launched by the Dallas Stars in 2024 and now carries Anaheim Ducks, Texas Rangers, and a small number of St. Louis Blues games. The company also has deals with Overtime, the Western Hockey League, and the Major Arena Soccer League.
Next season, Victory+ will carry 25 Sunday primetime NWSL games and 57 matches in total.
“We are expanding the discoverability and reach of NWSL matches because the demand is there,” commissioner Jessica Berman said in a statement. “These additional media packages will help us reach new audiences and build a new generation of fandom. The expanded commitments from CBS Sports and ESPN, paired with a new national Sunday night showcase with Victory+, bolster the NWSL’s trajectory of unprecedented growth.”
The NWSL was in need of a new deal that would cover the growing league. Heading into this season, nearly 70 games were not part of the media rights package and instead set to air on NWSL+, a number that would only increase next year with two new clubs.
