UK broadcasters Sky and the BBC agree to historic WSL media rights deal

The GIST: Women’s footy has finally caught its big break across the pond. Last week, the WSL — the top flight of UK women’s soccer — inked a five-year rights extension with Sky Sports and the BBC worth $84.5M. The deal follows months of speculation and has already been dubbed the “most significant” TV contract for women’s soccer in the UK and Ireland. Bloody right.

The details: Lead broadcasting partner Sky — a subsidiary of NBC parent Comcast — will show up to 118 WSL matches per season, including 78 exclusively on Sky and Sky Sports. The BBC will air 21 games: 14 exclusive BBC TV broadcasts, and seven simulcasts with Sky. Additionally, Sky has pledged to innovate its coverage and provide marketing and promotion assistance to the WSL.

• The deal will run from the 2025-26 season through 2030 and sits at about $16.9M per year, considerably higher than the current agreement worth between $9.1M and $10.4M annually. However, taking production costs and other factors into consideration, these companies will invest more than $130M combined into the WSL.

• Plus, the deal finally allows players to post in-game and post-game clips to their social media accounts without worrying about copyright infringement. Score.

The context: WSL governing body Women’s Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL) has reportedly been gearing up to negotiate a larger media rights deal for months. This February, it put every game up for broadcast and signed a one-year deal with Sky and the BBC in April, which WPLL CEO Nikki Doucet described as an opportunity to understand its audience as it targeted a longer deal.

• The viewership data proved promising: The WSL saw a record average audience of 40 minutes per match during the 2023-24 season, an 11% jump YoY. This season also marked another key shift as games were shown on YouTube for the first time, which more than tripled online viewership.

Zooming out: As seen with the NWSL’s four-year, $240M deal and the WNBA’s $2.2B, 11-year deal, massive media rights contracts can lead to increased commercial partnerships and rising visibility and valuations. This is a key step to the WSL becoming the billion-pound league it wants to be, while also making it an even bigger competitor for international soccer talent. Watch out, NWSL.