Sports docuseries trend continues in women’s soccer

The GIST: Last Wednesday, Prime Video announced the March 6th premiere date of For The Win, the docuseries covering the 2024 NWSL playoffs. While sports documentaries have been a mainstay in men’s sports for years, women’s soccer is now getting movie star treatment as media companies and brands recognize the market interest in covering the pitch. Plenty of green space.

The trend: Earlier this month, the NWSL announced initial details for the project, which includes exclusive interviews and locker room access during the league’s most recent playoff run. While WNBA documentaries like Power of The Dream and Shattered Glass have focused on off-the-court storylines, women’s soccer has successfully greenlit projects centering on the game.

• For The Win is the latest streamer-supported docuseries shedding light on dramatic moments in women’s soccer, following Netflix’s USWNT Under Pressure doc. Additionally, NWSL forward Midge Purce teamed up with entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian last year to launch The Offseason, an NWSL preseason reality series that streams exclusively on X. Bingo.

The landscape: The NFL’s Hard Knocks popularized the concept of behind-the-scenes sports documentaries, with the longtime HBO production offering a mid-season version in recent years. But the docuseries trend has expanded into more niche sports like golf and F1, with Full Swing encouraging viewers to pick up golf clubs and Drive To Survive boosting fandom.

• F1 has experienced continued audience growth since the show’s 2019 debut, including a 58% YoY viewership jump in 2022. F1 sponsors have also benefited from this increased exposure — Netflix’s show generated $42.2M in sponsorship exposure value in March 2022.

Zooming out: In the NWSL, partners stand to benefit when players and stadiums get extra shine — jersey sponsors are easy to spot in promo material for Prime’s latest show, for example. And if the NWSL successfully gets broadcast exposure beyond the season, it’ll become an even bigger sponsorship hotspot for brands.

• Other women’s leagues are also primed to benefit from docuseries exposure — the PWHL could capitalize on league interest with a series, especially with its in-house media venture and partner Amazon Prime Canada. So could Unrivaled, which has an exclusive media sponsorship with TNT Sports, a network that could use more basketball content. Put that spotlight on her.