During the 2013–2016 seasons, the majority of league games were available for viewing via YouTube or via individual team's websites.[4] Of the eight teams in the league during the inaugural season, the Boston Breakers were the only team that charged a fee for access to their broadcasts.[5]
On April 18, 2013, NWSL signed a one-year agreement[6] with Fox Sports 2 to televise six regular season games,[7] the semifinal,[8][9][10] and championship games.[11][12][13][14] All eight teams would appear on FS2[15] at least once and all six regular season games.
On May 28, 2014, the NWSL signed a one-year agreement with ESPN[17] to televise nine games[18] of the 2014 NWSL season. The matches included three regular season and three playoff matches on ESPN2,[19][20] as well as 3 regular season games live-streamed on ESPN3.[21]
On June 30, 2015,[26] the NWSL announced a one-year agreement[27] with Fox Sports once more to cover ten matches.[28] Three regular season and three playoff matches were televised on FS1,[29][30] and four live-streamed on Fox Sports Go.[31] The agreement was extended into 2016 under another one-year contract, covering three regular season matches and the three playoff matches, once again on FS1.[32][33] Consequently, no game aired for more than a month after the end of the World Cup,[34] and just six matches, total, reached televisions.[35]
The 2015 NWSL final between drew 167,000 viewers[36] on Fox Sports 1. That was up 7% from the same matchup on ESPN2 the previously year (156K) and up nearly 2,000% from 2013 final on Fox Sports 2 (8K).[37]
On April 14, 2016, NWSL and Fox Sports announced a one-year agreement to telecast six NWSL games for the second consecutive season. The agreement called for FS1 to air three regular-season matches (beginning on September 7, 2016, with a match-up between the Chicago Red Stars and FC Kansas City[38]) and all three games of the NWSL Playoffs, which includes the semifinals and final.[39] All six games would also stream live on FOX Soccer 2Go, FOX Sports GO, and FOXSportsGO.com. The Orlando Pride were not one of the three regular-season matches included in the deal,[40] and would have to be one of four playoff teams to make it on national television.
The broadcast teams that Fox Sports employed this time included:
On February 2, 2017, the NWSL announced a three-year agreement with A&E Networks, in which the Lifetime network broadcast 22 regular-season matches as the NWSL Game of the Week at 4 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday afternoons, as well as three post-season matches. This marked the first time that the NWSL had a weekly broadcast window throughout the entire season. As part of the deal, A&E Networks purchased a 25% equity stake in the NWSL and were granted two seats on the league's board. The company also formed a joint venture with the league known as NWSL Media to oversee the league's marketing and broadcast rights, and Lifetime became a league-wide kit sponsor for all players. This deal marked the first time Lifetime had broadcast sports since the WNBA in the late 1990s and early 2000s.[45][46][47][48][49]
Lifetime's broadcasts featured play-by-play announcer Jenn Hildreth,[50] analyst Aly Wagner, host and sideline reporter Dalen Cuff[51] as well as select appearances by analyst and sideline reporter Kate Markgraf.
Lifetime also streamed the game of the week in the United States via its website, and internationally in the NWSL website and iOS app. The remaining games were initially streamed exclusively by go90 in the United States under a digital rights deal with Verizon Communications, and through the NWSL website internationally.[52] The quality of the streams through go90 faced criticism, with sportswriters, users, and players and team staff criticizing the service for its inconsistent quality and arguing that the NWSL's growth could be harmed by go90's relative lack of reach and prominence when compared to YouTube.[53][54]The Equalizer noted that the app was prone to crashing, did not have the same wide device support as YouTube,[55] and that the telecasts themselves suffered from their own technical problems (such as poor camera angles and glitches with graphics), but that the streams were good when they worked.[56] On May 19, 2017, the league announced that they would additionally stream games on the NWSL website and app in the U.S. until the technical issues with go90 were rectified.[57]
After Houston Dash player Rachel Daly collapsed on the pitch after a match in Houston, on May 27 – where the heat index was reportedly over 100 degrees Fahrenheit – she was carried off on a stretcher and hospitalized for heat illness. League operations director Amanda Duffy subsequently announced that the NWSL Game of the Week matches, many of which were slated for the hottest parts of the day in humid cities such as Houston, Orlando, and Cary, North Carolina, would be rescheduled to allow for longer hydration breaks. Some Game of the Week matches changed to other venues, and teams not scheduled for television were granted more flexibility in rescheduling kickoffs for player safety. The league also adopted new procedures for addressing heat and rescheduling matches.[58][59]
On June 6, 2018, it was announced that six Game of the Week matches through the remainder of the season would move to evening kickoffs and air on ESPNews (which is owned by a sister venture to A&E Networks), in an effort to ensure the safety of players, as well as improve attendance.[60] Go90 shut down in July 2018; the remaining games not aired on television were moved back to the NWSL website for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs.[61]
Since ESPNNews was generally included in a higher-tier cable package as compared to Lifetime, this made the channel less accessible to the average viewer. Fans not watching on television would be able to stream the games live via the ESPN App, but they would need to be ESPNews subscribers to do that as authentication is required in the U.S. This could have potentially led to lower viewership numbers for the games broadcast on ESPNews.[62]
On February 20, 2019, the NWSL announced that A&E Networks had pulled out of its broadcasting agreement[63] with the league one season early. A&E's stake in NWSL Media was given back to the league, but Lifetime would remain a kit sponsor.[64] NWSL president Amanda Duffy said the changes would give the league and its teams finer control over its media and sponsorship agreements, and expected to announce a new television rights deal soon. Verizon Media remained the U.S. digital rightsholder to the league, but the streams moved from go90 to the Yahoo! Sports website and apps.[65]
The NWSL did not reach any national television deals before the start of the 2019 season,[66] but after their opening match, the Chicago Red Stars reached their own television deal with the regional sports networkNBC Sports Chicago.[67] In July 2019, the NWSL announced that ESPN had acquired a 14-match[68] package for the remainder of the season divided among ESPNews and ESPN2, including the semifinals and championship match.[69] Eight matches would air on ESPNEWS, and the remaining six, including the two semifinals and the championship,[70] would air on ESPN2.[71]
The 2019 playoffs on ESPN2 averaged 148,000 viewers overall, up 66 percent from 2018. That year's championship game between the North Carolina Courage and Chicago Red Stars was seen by an average audience of 166,000 viewers on ESPN2, making it the most-watched NWSL match in three years. The audience was 43 percent higher than the 2018 Final and the NWSL's best audience since the 2016 Final (Western New York vs. Washington, 180,000 viewers). The 2019 NWSL season finished with an average of 81,000 viewers across ESPN networks, up 7 percent year-over-year. The 2019 NWSL season on ESPN networks also made its biggest year-over-year gains among viewers 18–49 with an average of 37,000 viewers, a 32 percent increase over the previous year.[72]
ESPN's broadcast talent line-up[73] included Aly Wagner (color commentary), Jenn Hildreth (play-by-play), Angela Hucles (color commentary), Glenn Davis (play-by-play), Marisa Pilla (sideline reporter), and Dalen Cuff (play-by-play and sideline reporter).
In October 2019, the NWSL signed the agency Octagon to market its media rights. It was reported that Octagon was pursuing multi-year agreements of at least three years and stronger broadcaster commitments, as to help build an audience and discourage broadcasters from acquiring NWSL rights to ride the coattails of the U.S. national team and the FIFA Women's World Cup, but then "abandon" it afterward.[74]
On March 11, 2020, the NWSL announced that it has entered into a three-year media agreement with CBS Sports[75] and the video game-oriented streaming service Twitch,[76] for a reported $4.5M rights fee to the NWSL over those 3 years.[77] For the 2020 NWSL season, CBS Sports will broadcast 87 matches (including the playoffs) split between CBS, CBS Sports Network, and CBS All Access in Canada and the United States, with the exact distribution among the channels subject to change, while Twitch will stream an additional 24 matches for free. Twitch will also become the NWSL's international media rights holder and stream all matches outside Canada and the United States for free.[78][79] This marked the first time that CBS Sports would broadcast any major professional soccer on U.S. television since the North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1976.[80] However, actual production responsibilities would not be handled by CBS Sports, but National Women's Soccer League itself.[81] This broadcasting arrangement is similar to a brokered deal or a time-buy.
Coverage of the 2020 NWSL season was scheduled to begin on Saturday, April 18 at 1 p.m. ET on CBS and CBS All Access with coverage of the OL Reign taking on the Washington Spirit. That was supposed to be followed by a rematch of previous year's championship game between the Chicago Red Stars and the North Carolina Courage at 7 p.m. ET on Twitch. On March 12, 2020, the preseason match schedule was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.[82] As a result, the NWSL announced on March 20 that the regular season start cancelled.[83]
And then on June 16, 2020, the National Women's Soccer League announced[84] that CBS would air the opening match of the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup between back-to-back champions North Carolina Courage and Portland Thorns FC on June 27 at 10:30a.m. MT (12:30p.m. ET). The CBS broadcast coverage of the opening match would also stream live on CBS All Access, and opening day would continue with a matchup between the Orlando Pride and Chicago Red Stars on CBS All Access at 8 p.m. MT (10 p.m. ET).
The opening match would be covered[85] by play-by-play announcer Jenn Hildreth and analyst Aly Wagner, with games 2 through 22 called by play-by-play announcer Mike Watts and analyst Lori Lindsey. Josh Tolle and Jenn Cooper[86] would broadcast all other matches on Twitch for viewers outside the U.S. and Canada. Marisa Pilla would serve as the tournament's on-field reporter.
For the 2021 NWSL Championship Game[87] on November 20, CBS[88] aired the game live while Paramount+ (formally CBS All Access) would stream it live on their service. Meanwhile, the NWSL's Twitch channel would stream the game internationally. Jenn Hildreth once again provided the play-by-play alongside Aly Wagner with Marisa Pilla and Lori Lindsey reporting from the sidelines.
CBS Sports, TSN, DAZN, Tigo, and Endeavor (2023)
The league's partnership with Twitch expired after the 2022 season, and the league declined to renew it, instead contracting Endeavor Streaming to operate an international streaming service for the league, while three international broadcast partners acquired broadcast rights for their territories:[89]
DAZN acquired non-exclusive broadcast rights for Brazil, Japan, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, UK, France, Belgium, Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands.[89]
Tigo acquired non-exclusive broadcast rights for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.[89]
On June 6, 2023, Tigo also added free Spanish-language streams of two regular-season NWSL matches per week, the NWSL Challenge Cup playoffs, and NWSL playoffs in the United States and Canada.[91]
CBS Sports remained the league's broadcast partner through 2023, but did not extend a deal with the league prior to the end of its period of exclusive negotiations in 2022.[92] CBS continued to air limited matches on over-the-air CBS broadcast and CBS Sports Network, with most matches still streamed on the paid Paramount+ service. Upon the launch of the free soccer-focused CBS Sports Golazo Network service, CBS announced that a limited schedule of NWSL matches would also be streamed there.[93]
On November 9, 2023, the NWSL announced multi-year deals with CBS Sports, ESPN, Amazon Prime Video, and Scripps Sports, reported to be valued in total at around $60 million per-season (in comparison to the roughly $1.5 million paid by CBS under the previous agreement).[95]
On CBS and streaming on Paramount+, CBS Sports will air at least 10 regular season matches, one quarter-final, one semi-final, and the championship. Eight matches will air exclusively on CBS Sports Network.[96][95]
Prime Video will stream the season opening match, 25 regular season matches on Friday nights, and one quarter-final.[95]
ESPN will air 17 regular season matches, two quarter-finals, and one semi-final on ESPN, ESPN2, or ABC, and streaming on ESPN+.[96][95]
Ion Television will air 50 regular season matches per-season, consisting of primetime doubleheaders on Saturday nights.[95]
The remaining matches not covered by these contracts are streamed for free on the league-owned NWSL+ streaming service. Individual teams also have the option to sell the rights to these matches to regional sports networks or broadcast stations in their local markets, though the NWSL+ stream is not blacked out.[95][96][97]
In addition to local coverage, KMCI also simulcasts all Current games aired nationally on Ion Television despite not being an affiliate of the network. Ion and KMCI are both owned by the E. W. Scripps Company.[102]
As of 2017, Boston Breakers games were streamed exclusively by Go90 for American audiences and via the NWSL website for international viewers.[52] As part of a three-year agreement with A&E Networks, Lifetime broadcasts one NWSL Game of the Week on Saturday afternoons.[112][47] The Breakers were featured in the nationally televised Game of the Week on September 2, 2017.[113] Previous seasons' games were broadcast on YouTube,[114] MediaBoss Television,[115]ESPN,[116] and Fox Sports.[117]
As of April 2017, FC Kansas City games were streamed exclusively by Go90 for American audiences and via the NWSL website for international viewers.[118] For the 2017 season, the Blues will be featured in three nationally televised Lifetime NWSL Game of the Week broadcasts on June 3, August 16 and September 9.[119][120] Ahead of the 2013 season, it was announced that games would be broadcast on the team's website and YouTube.[121] Eight games were broadcast locally on Time Warner Cable's Metro Sports.[122] During the 2014 season, nine games were broadcast on the same channel.[123]
International broadcasters (outside USA)
The countries without broadcasting rights, can watch all NWSL matches via NWSL+ platform.[124]
In the United States, sports are televised on various broadcast networks, national and specialty sports cable channels, and regional sports networks. U.S. sports rights are estimated to be worth a total of $22.42 billion in 2019, about 44 percent of the total worldwide sports media market. U.S. networks are willing to pay a significant amount of money for television sports contracts because it attracts large amounts of viewership; live sport broadcasts accounted for 44 of the 50 list of most watched television broadcasts in the United States in 2016.
The Boston Breakers were an American professional women's soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defunct Women's United Soccer Association, as the Boston area's professional women's soccer team. Boston would eventually be awarded BOS Nation FC in 2023 that would begin play in 2026.
Major League Soccer has been broadcast live in the United States nationally since the league's inception in 1996 and in Canada since 2007. As of the 2023 season, Apple Inc. is the primary global rights holder and streams every regular season and playoff match on MLS Season Pass – a service in the Apple TV app. Some matches are also broadcast on television via Fox Sports in the United States, and Bell Media in Canada.
Women's soccer in the United States has developed quite differently from men's soccer. Until the 1970s, organized women's soccer matches in the U.S. existed only on a limited basis.
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional soccer league at the top of the United States league system. The league comprises 14 teams. It is owned by the teams and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation. The NWSL is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan.
The Washington Spirit are an American professional soccer team based in the Washington metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the W-League and continues to field both an amateur Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) team and a youth team, both under the Spirit name.
FC Kansas City was an American professional women's soccer club based in Kansas City, Missouri. The team was one of the eight founding clubs of the National Women's Soccer League in 2012, and began play in 2013. They were two-time NWSL champions, having won titles in 2014 and 2015. After the 2017 season, the NWSL re-acquired owner Elam Baer's membership interest and subsequently ceased the team's operations.
Portland Thorns FC is an American professional soccer team based in Portland, Oregon, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team NWSL, which received support from the United States Soccer Federation (USSF).
Seattle Reign FC is an American professional women's soccer team based in Seattle, Washington, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2012, it is one of eight inaugural members of the NWSL. Since June 2024, the Reign are owned by the private equity firm the Carlyle Group and Major League Soccer team Seattle Sounders FC.
The Houston Dash are an American professional soccer team based in Houston, Texas, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The Dash began play in the 2014 season. The team plays its home games at Shell Energy Stadium.
The Orlando Pride are a professional soccer team based in Orlando, Florida, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The Pride began play in the 2016 season. They were the tenth team to be added to the league and play their home games at Inter&Co Stadium in downtown Orlando.
The North Carolina Courage are an American professional soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It was founded on January 9, 2017, after Stephen Malik acquired NWSL franchise rights from the Western New York Flash. The Courage plays its home games at WakeMed Soccer Park.
ESPN+ is an American over-the-top subscription video streaming service available in the United States, owned by the ESPN division of The Walt Disney Company, in partnership with ESPN Inc., which is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications. It is one of Disney's three flagship subscription streaming brands in the United States, alongside Disney+ and Hulu, and operates using technology of Disney subsidiary BAMTech, now known as Disney Streaming.
Soccer on ESPN and ABC is a number of programs that currently airs soccer matches in the United States. These matches are from European competitions.
Major League Soccer has been broadcast live in the U.S. nationally since the league's inception in 1996 and in Canada since 2007. In the United States the game is broadcast in English on Fox Sports 1 and Fox, in Spanish on Fox Deportes. In Canada, MLS is broadcast on TSN in English and RDS in French.
Soccer on CBS Sports is a number of television programs that have aired soccer matches in the United States on CBS, CBS Sports Network, Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo Network. These matches are from International, European, and American competitions.
Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league consisting of six active teams in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001. Teams played 16 regular-season games from late May to late September, with a four-team playoff for the championship trophy, the Steinfeld Trophy.
The Premier League is the most-watched soccer league in the world, broadcast in 212 territories to 643 million homes and a potential TV audience of 4.7 billion people. The Premier League is broadcast in the United States through NBC Sports. Premier League viewership has increased rapidly, with NBC and NBCSN averaging a record 479,000 viewers in the 2014–15 season, up 118% from 2012–13 when coverage still aired on Fox Soccer and ESPN/ESPN2, and NBC Sports has been widely praised for its coverage. NBC Sports reached a six-year extension with the Premier League in 2015 to broadcast the league through the 2021–22 season in a deal valued at $1 billion (£640 million).
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Australia 
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