The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) has been making waves in the sports world, outperforming Major League Soccer (MLS) in terms of viewership. This success can be attributed to a combination of factors including timing, strategic media deals, and the rising interest in women's sports.
Formed in 2012, NWSL operates similarly to MLS as a single-entity closed league. It has been growing steadily by attracting new investors for nationwide expansion. However, what sets it apart is its recent media rights deal that brought games to 12 different TV networks and streaming services during 2024. This $60 million/year deal came at an opportune time when free ad-supported TV channels (FAST), such as Pluto TV, Tubi, Roku Channel have gained mainstream popularity. As a result, CBS Sports Golazo Network, ION and NWSL+ FAST channels played a crucial role in making NWSL games more accessible for free nationwide.
In contrast with this approach is MLS' decision to put its games behind Apple TV's paywall from 2023 onwards as part of a ten-year deal. This move resulted in only 6% of MLS games being available on television by 2024.
Record-breaking viewership for NWSL
NWSL has been enjoying record viewing numbers thanks to its strategic media rights offering. The recent championship game between Orlando Pride and Washington Spirit averaged over one million viewers - an increase from previous years' finals. Throughout the season too, broadcasts averaged over half-a-million viewers for knock-out round games while regular-season matches attracted more than 175k people per game on average.
On the other hand, with limited availability on television due to their Apple TV deal; MLS struggled this season. Even their biggest game of the year Columbus Crew vs Inter Miami averaged only 157k viewers. Interestingly, MLS had a similar media rights offering from 2015 through 2022, with games shown across multiple channels. This approach that worked for MLS before it moved to streaming is now working wonders for NWSL.
NWSL's media partners provide incredible reach. For instance, leveraging its partnership with CBS allowed NWSL to bring its games into American homes nationwide via the CBS Mornings program which typically has over two million viewers per week. In contrast, Apple TV and MLS lack this kind of relationship with television networks that could be used to promote the league.
NWSL's advantage over MLS
While Major League Soccer’s Apple TV deal was forward-thinking in betting on streaming as the future of broadcasting; it failed to anticipate competition from free products like CBS Sports Golazo Network or NWSL+ while charging $14.99 per month for access.
Moreover, NWSL holds another significant advantage over MLS - it is one of the world’s top women’s soccer leagues and faces very little competition compared to Major League Soccer which competes against top leagues including Premier League, Serie A, Bundesliga and Liga MX among others.
With a robust media rights deal and minimal competition; it's no surprise that NWSL is currently enjoying a period of success.
