Sportdigital, a German sports-focused broadcaster, has significantly expanded its women's football offering. The company recently acquired the rights to England’s elite Women’s Super League (WSL) for the 2025-26 season. This move is set to bolster Sportdigital's already impressive football portfolio and cater to an ever-growing audience of women's football enthusiasts.
Under this new deal, Sportdigital will showcase at least three live WSL games per week via its pay-TV channel, Sportdigital1+. The coverage began with the September 27 showdown between Arsenal and Aston Villa. All these games will feature German-language commentary on the service, providing a more immersive experience for local fans.
Expanding coverage beyond WSL
In addition to securing rights for top-tier WSL matches, this deal also grants Sportdigital access to secondary division matches - the WSL 2 - and the Women’s League Cup knockout tournament. This comprehensive coverage ensures that fans can follow their favorite teams and players across various competitions. The current roster of players in the WSL includes several top German talents such as Chelsea’s Sjoeke Nüsken and Manchester City pair Sydney Lohmann and Rebecca Knaak. Their presence in these leagues is likely to draw significant interest from German viewers.
The acquisition comes at a time when interest in women's football is surging across Europe - Germany included. The 2025 women’s Euros performed exceptionally well across Europe despite Germany losing out in semi-finals against Spain. This match drew an average audience of 14.2 million on public-service network ZDF – equating to a nationwide viewership share of 57.6%.
This game became one of most-watched women’s football fixtures on German TV ever, second only to the 17.9 million viewers who watched Germany’s defeat by England in the final of the 2022 edition of the same tournament. Even matches not involving the German national team attracted significant attention. For instance, England’s win in another semi-final fixture drew an average of 7.09 million viewers from Germany.
Sportdigital's strong rights portfolio
The addition of WSL rights further strengthens Sportdigital's football portfolio, which already includes top-flight men’s competitions such as Brazilian Serie A, Saudi Pro League, Dutch Eredivisie, Polish Ekstraklasa and more.
Sportdigital managing director, Gisbert Wundram, said:
“The [2025] European Championship in Switzerland has demonstrated the importance and quality of women's football. Therefore, we are very pleased to be able to broadcast the best women's football league at Sportdigital in the future and thus to inspire new fans and target groups for women's football."
With Germany being one of the bidders interested in hosting the 2029 Women’s European Championship, this move by Sportdigital is a strategic step towards catering to a growing fan base and capitalizing on increasing interest in women's football.
