Women’s Super League Announce Landmark Deal with Sky Sports & BBC
March 26, 2021
The Barclays FA Women’s Super League (WSL) has announced that Sky Sports and the BBC have been awarded media broadcast rights in a groundbreaking three-year deal - estimated to be upwards of £21 million - which is set to make the WSL the most-watched women’s sport league in the world.
The FA believes this represents the largest commercial deal to date for any women’s football division in the world, resulting in unprecendented exposure to live women's football. Previously, coverage has been shared by the pay channel BT Sport and the BBC, which aired one game per week on its Red Button service. This is the first time that the rights to the WSL have been sold separately from the men’s game, with clubs in the league receiving a proportion of the revenue. Part of the income will also be distributed to clubs in the FA Women’s Championship to aid their development.
Kelly Simmons, FA director of the women’s professional game said: “This is a landmark deal, not just for the WSL but the whole of the women’s game — it’s really going to help us to grow and engage our fan base. It is transformational. This is mainstream, this is prime slots on television, big audiences, week in week out. And I think it’s such an exciting step for the women’s game.”
Sky Sports has the right to show up to 44 matches, with a minimum of 35 being screened across Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Football, with some matches also shown simultaneously on Sky Sports Mix and Sky One. The BBC have also made a commitment to showcase the league to even more viewers by showcasing 22 live games per season, with a minimum of 18 matches on mainstream, free-to-air channels, BBC One and BBC Two. In the past, games have been shown live on BBC iPlayer and Red Button.
All other games will be shown live on the FA’s online platform ‘FA player’, meaning that all 132 matches per season in the WSL will continue to be available live.
“We look forward to working with the FA and building a close partnership that helps grow the women's game now and for future generations. With the addition of the WSL, Sky Sports truly is the home of football," stated Rob Webster, managing director of Sky Sports.
The broadcaster will now begin a recruitment process to put together a ‘best in class’ on and off-screen production team as part of the plan to align WSL with its other big sporting leagues and events.
The news adds to the payTV broadcaster’s women’s sport portfolio, coming on the back of a recent deal with England Netball to screen the Vitality Netball Superleague, while the WSL will get the full Sky Sports treatment with lengthy build-ups and reaction to all live matches.
“We are delighted to offer the FA Women’s Super League a free-to-air platform to ensure the sport, and the players, connect with the widest possible audience,” said Barbara Slater, the director of BBC Sport.
The landmark deal comes just a year before the 2022 UEFA Women’s European Championships are due to be hosted in England. The agreements with both broadcasters will run until the summer of 2024.