The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the highest level of women's soccer in the US, has announced it will develop its own global live steaming platform, to bring free coverage of every match of the 2023 season to fans overseas.
The new OTT service will be created in conjunction with Endeavor, the owner of MMA giant the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and will only be available to fans living outside of the USA.
This deal will mean that fans of NWSL soccer from outside of the country will be able to access every match of the season online via the league's website portal, thanks to technology provided by Endeavor Streaming.
Jessica Berman, the Commissioner of the NWSL, said of the deal:
“We are excited to put a global spotlight on the exceptional players who bring top tier competition and entertainment to the NWSL,”
“Especially with this being a World Cup year, we’re looking forward to providing our global fanbase the opportunity to watch these players compete for their respective NWSL clubs before the World Cup competition begins and upon their return this summer.”
Meanwhile, Endeavor Streaming Chief Commercial Officer, Pete Bellamy, added:
“We’re excited to continue our global momentum in women’s sport, helping some of the biggest leagues and federations in the world grow their audience, increase accessibility and build direct relationships with their fans.”
NWSL signs other global deals with DAZN and Tigo
Alongside this deal, the NWSL has also reached two non-exclusive agreements with DAZN and Tigo to bring its content to other parts of the world.
DAZN will be broadcasting the 2023 season in key markets across Europe and the UK, as well as Brazil, while Tigo has become the league's partner in Central America, bringing coverage of NWSL matches to audiences in countries like Costa Rica, Panama and Honduras.
DAZN and Tigo join Canadian pay-TV giant TSN in successfully purchasing broadcast rights, after TSN secured the Canadian rights to the competiton last week.
CBS enter final season of NWSL partnership
In the US itself, the rights to the 2023 NWSL soccer season have been snapped up by Paramount, with 23 matches to air on CBS television and every other game available exclusively on its Paramount+ live streaming platform.
This is the final season of the league's deal with CBS to provide cross-platform coverage of all NWSL matches of each season.
It is currently unknown whether CBS will continue to air the NWSL on its various TV channels and Paramount+ live streaming service in the seasons to come.
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