Starting in 2024, the NWSL will begin each regular-season weekend with Friday night matches on Prime Video. Saturday night will have a doubleheader on Scripps-owned ION network, which is available over-the-air in 123 million homes.
CBS Sports will have minimum of 21 games per season, including a minimum of 10 on CBS and Paramount+, and a minimum of eight on CBS Sports Network. Come playoffs, CBS and Paramount+ get one quarterfinal and one semifinal per season, as well as the championship.
“Extending this partnership further demonstrates our commitment to elevating women’s sports as we continue to work hand-in-hand with the NWSL to highlight the world’s best women’s soccer players,” Sean McManus, chairman of CBS Sports, said in a statement. “As we prepare to present the 2023 NWSL Championship this weekend, we are excited to continue to showcase this league across our platforms for years to come and remain the ultimate destination for soccer fans.”
ESPN and ABC have 20 games per season, 17 during the regular season, as well as two quarterfinals and one semifinal.
Prime Video gets 27 games—25 on Friday nights—the season kickoff match, and one quarterfinal.
“The evolution of women’s sports—and specifically the NWSL—demonstrates that there is a growing audience for remarkable athletes and world-class competition, regardless of gender,” said Marie Donoghue, vp of U.S. sports content and partnerships at Amazon, in a statement. “With the unique power and distribution of Prime Video, and an exclusive window on Friday nights throughout the season, we look forward to expanding that audience as the newest home of the NWSL.”
Scripps will have 50 games, with 25 exclusive on Saturday nights at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET. There will also be a weekly studio show leading off the doubleheaders, and ION will air the 2024 NWSL Draft, with the date yet to be determined.
The league is also building a domestic streaming product that will host the remainder of the games not nationally broadcast, modeled off of the league’s international D2C platform. While pricing isn’t set yet, it will have about 72 games that aren’t part of the new broadcast agreement.
Just getting started
The landmark deal comes at a time of unprecedented growth for the NWSL, now in its 11th season. Beginning next year, two expansion teams—San Francisco area-based Bay FC and Utah Royals FC—will begin play, bringing the total teams to 14. That follows the addition of Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC last year.
Megan Rapinoe’s farewell home game with OL Reign FC in Seattle in October became the most-watched regular season game ever, drawing 683,000 viewers on CBS. That match is only behind the 2022 NWSL Championship, which drew 915,000 viewers—the first time the championship aired in primetime. As of June, regular season viewership on CBS was up 21% year over year, and more than 50% on Paramount+.
“We’ve seen significant growth in women’s sports coverage across broadcast, streaming, social and digital,” said Haddon. “And our fans continue to consume more content across our games, as well as league, club and player content across all of their favorite media platforms—and we look forward to providing it to them.”
