On Friday, Netflix announced it will acquire the streaming and studio divisions of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), now separated under the Warner Brothers (WB) brand, in a $82.7B deal. But in dramatic fashion, Paramount Skydance threatened to finish what it started as it launched a $108.4B hostile bid for the entire company to compete with what was considered a done deal.

Last week, the Frauen Bundesliga — Germany’s 14-club professional women’s soccer league — made the surprising decision to split from the Deutscher Fußball-Bund (DFB), the nation’s governing body for the sport.

“At this point, Angel Reese is as much of a socialite as she is a basketball player,” writes Marie Claire’s Ariel Baker in an article singing the 23-year-old’s praises, lauding Reese’s iconic French twist while sitting front-row at a Chanel show in NYC while effusing about being “obsessed with her duality.”

On Tuesday, U.S. Soccer announced the creation of the Kang Women’s Institute, a research platform within the organization funded by the aforementioned Kang’s generous $55M in total commitments to support women’s soccer. The platform aims to close the gaps in scientific research around women athletes in the lead-up to the Women’s World Cups in 2027 and 2031.

In its joint bid for the 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC), U.S. Soccer — which plans to host alongside Mexico, Jamaica, and Costa Rica — submitted its bid book for the tournament, with the overwhelming majority of proposed venues spanning U.S. cities.

Last week, English soccer club Arsenal announced a new global marketing partnership with Paramount+, the U.S.–based streaming platform that currently reaches 28 countries. Through the partnership, Arsenal players will team up with acting talent to promote Paramount+ content, including popular shows like Landman and MobLand.

Last week, Rival — set to be the first sportsbook built exclusively for women’s sports — shared its plans to be active in three U.S. betting markets by 2026. The platform will include bets across the NWSL, WNBA, NCAA women’s basketball, WSL, WTA, and more, differing from the existing platforms that center men’s sports.

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Last week, the PWHL announced the return of the Takeover Tour — which brings PWHL games to other markets — for a third season. And the next edition is bigger and better: The league will host 16 neutral-site games and visit seven new cities while returning to multiple stops from last year.

This week, the NBA announced a new Disney+ deal that puts games on the platform in the Philippines. When Disney+ acquired exclusive European UEFA streaming rights in June, we predicted the possibility of Disney leveraging its global streaming access to start building a stable of sports media rights.

There’s a storm brewing in the NWSL as Washington Spirit star Trinity Rodman’s contract comes to an end in six weeks. While the Spirit are on their way to the NWSL Championship, Rodman is considering what comes next — and she could be the latest NWSL star to defect to Europe for greener pastures.