Sky Sports secures WSL rights in landmark five-year deal
- WSL have agreed a record five-year broadcast deal with Sky
- The broadcaster has secured the rights to 90% of WSL games from 2025/26
- Current deal only allows them to show up to 44 matches per season
Sky has announced an historic five-year partnership with the Women's Professional League Ltd that secures the rights to show 90% of all WSL matches from the 2025/26 season until 2030.
The top flight of women's football in England has been shown on both Sky Sports and the BBC in recent seasons, and the previous deal with the broadcasters, worth a reported £8m per year, was rolled over into 2024/25 to allow more time to secure a long-term agreement.
Now, Sky will remain the main home of women's football following the announcement of the five-year deal, which will take effect from next season. The broadcaster is already one of the biggest investors in women's sport in the UK, and this deal will add to their domestic football portfolio, which includes the Premier League, EFL, Scottish Professional Football League, and Scottish Women's Premier League.
Sky will broadcast 118 matches from the WSL every season, which is a significant increase on the current 44 matches. As many as 78 of those will be shown exclusively on Sky channels.
This new partnership will also give Sky the option to show matches from the second tier Women's Championship, as well as the Women's League Cup, including the final. This will bring both of those competitions to the network for the first time.
Dana Strong, Group CEO, Sky, said: "This is an incredibly exciting and significant moment for women's sport. The longer-term partnership reflects our commitment to women's football and provides the platform for us to keep working with the WPLL to bring in more fans, grow the game and create the most entertaining and competitive women’s football league in the world.
"As the home of sport, Sky is already by far the biggest investor in women's sport in the UK and Ireland, and this new partnership further demonstrates our backing of elite female athletes. We look forward to telling their stories and inspiring the next generation of fans."
The increase in the number of WSL games being shown on Sky will kick in at the same time as a new record deal with the Premier League, in which they will show at least 215 matches every season.
The BBC will continue to broadcast the WSL as they too have secured a new five-year deal with the WPLL. They will show 21 top flight matches every season, which is in keeping with the current deal which allows them to show a maximum of 22.
14 of the 21 games will be broadcast on BBC television channels, with the remaining seven shared across BBC iPlayer and BBC digital platforms. 34 matches will continue be shown on the WPLL's YouTube channel, which launched this season.
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