NWSL announces media deals with CBS Sports, ESPN and Amazon worth $240 million
Carli Lloyd of NJ/NY Gotham FC fights for control in the second half of the NWSL match against Sydney Leroux of the Orlando Pride at Red Bull Arena on August 29, 2021.
Ira L. Black – Corbis | Getty Images Sports | Getty Images
The National Women’s Soccer League announced a four-year media distribution contract Thursday with CBS Sports, ESPN, Amazon Main video And Sports Sports.
The contract, which is expected to begin in 2024, includes agreements for 118 domestic windows across media channels, the league said, which is expected to generate “record distribution and revenue.” The NWSL will begin each regular season weekend with Friday night games on Prime Video, followed by Saturday night doubleheaders on the Scripps-owned ION Network.
The league will also broadcast a set of regular season games on CBS and stream live on Paramount+. Additionally, ESPN will broadcast a mix of matches across its various channels, including streaming live on ESPN+ in English and Spanish.
The remainder of the NWSL regular season matches will be part of a direct-to-consumer package, the league added.
The deal is set at $60 million a year, for a total of $240 million over the life of the deal, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC.
This represents a multiple of 40 from the NWSL’s previous agreement, the league said.
“These partnerships are fundamentally game-changing for our league and for the players who take the field every week,” NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said in a statement. “We have taken great care to ensure our games are discoverable by increasing our reach to expose new audiences to everything that makes our league special, without compromising the economic value of our product. This is the start of our future .”
CBS will broadcast a minimum of 21 games, ESPN and ABC will broadcast 20 games, Prime Video will broadcast 27 games and Scripps will broadcast 50, according to the league.
— CNBC’s Jessica Golden contributed to this report.
