The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), North America's premier women's soccer league, is set to enhance its domestic coverage following the expansion of its rights agreements with sports broadcaster ESPN and national network CBS Sports. In addition to these expanded deals, the league has also partnered with streaming service Victory+, further bolstering its broadcast reach.
These agreements were facilitated by sports marketing giant IMG and cover the 2026 and 2027 campaigns. The timing coincides with NWSL's plans to introduce two expansion clubs - Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC - in 2026. This expansion will increase the number of clubs in the league to sixteen, adding an additional 32 games to its schedule.
Under these new deals, Disney-owned ESPN along with ABC will boost their coverage from this season’s 20 games to a total of 36 in both the upcoming seasons. This includes all 'Decision Day' games. CBS Sports' coverage will also see a significant increase from this year’s tally of 24 matches up to a total of 38 matches for each season. The distribution includes airing thirteen games on CBS (including the championship game), twenty on CBS Sports Network, while five games are yet-to-be-decided platform-wise.
Victory+ joins as new partner
Victory+, a free ad-supported streaming TV channel becomes NWSL's fifth domestic rights partner under this agreement. It is set to gain broadcasting rights for fifty-seven games per season which include twenty-five weekly Sunday primetime matches.
However, due to these new rights deals, there will be a reduction in content offered via NWSL+'s free direct-to-consumer (DTC) service from sixty-three this year down to forty annually in 2026 and 2027.
NWSL commissioner, Jessica Berman, said:
“We are expanding the discoverability and reach of NWSL matches because the demand is there. 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.”
Ongoing four-year domestic rights agreement
These new and expanded deals come amidst the league's wider four-year domestic rights agreement that began in 2024 and will run through 2027. This agreement involves ESPN, CBS, Amazon, and Scripps.
Amazon Prime Video will continue to broadcast twenty-seven matches while US media company Scripps is set to show fifty regular-season Saturday night matches. The networks involved in this deal are expected to pay a combined $240 million over the four seasons – $60 million annually – with CBS retaining the rights to the league’s season finale.
The financial terms of these new agreements have not been disclosed yet. However, it's worth noting that ESPN’s involvement comes shortly after launching its own DTC service which provides subscribers access not only to all its allocated NWSL games but also its portfolio of other live sports rights. These expanded deals and partnerships signify a significant step forward for NWSL as it continues on its path of growth and expansion. It ensures increased visibility for women's soccer across various platforms catering both sports fans as well as sports betting enthusiasts.
