After a Record-Breaking 2023, NWSL Enters 2024 Season With More Production Partners, Free DTC Platform

A total of 190 games will be produced on Prime Video, ESPN, CBS, ION, NWSL+

The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) experienced another year of exponential growth in 2023, but, to further increase the popularity of women’s professional soccer, a handful of changes were made for the 2024 regular season. A one-game NWSL Challenge Cup kicking off the 190-match slate has been added to the calendar, and the league will be expanded by two teams, the returning Utah Royals in Salt Lake City and the new Bay FC in the San Francisco Bay Area. On the production side, the league has solidified its balanced linear/streaming broadcast strategy with four media partners — CBS, ESPN, Prime Video, and Scripps Sports — and has launched the NWSL+ direct-to-consumer platform.

“The number of national broadcasts moving from seven to 121 is a game-changer,” says Brian Gordon, SVP, broadcast, NWSL. “There’s going to be a lot more exposure of our players, fans will be able to have more access, and both our sponsors and partners will see a return on their investment.”

Amazon Prime Video and Scripp Sports’ ION is joining CBS Sports and ESPN as media partners in 2024.

Fun for Everyone: New Partners, Free NWSL+ Make the Game Affordable and Accessible

To maximize exposure, the league has signed media-rights deals with new and familiar broadcast partners. Two of them — the family of networks and platforms at ESPN and CBS Sports — will air 40 total matches in the regular season. ESPN’s 20-match allotment comprises nine on ESPN2, seven on ESPN, and four on ABC, with ESPN Deportes offering 13 contests in Spanish and, for all 20 matches, both English- and Spanish-language versions available on ESPN+. The CBS Sports deal covers 11 matches on CBS and streaming on Paramount+, nine on CBS Sports Network, and selected matches on the CBS Sports Golazo Network.

For the playoffs, ESPN’s three matches (two quarterfinals and a semifinal) will air on ABC, and CBS Sports will air three (a quarterfinal, a semifinal, and the 2024 NWSL Championship).

The league will distribute 69 games for free on their new DTC platform, NWSL+.

New to NWSL this season are ION and Amazon Prime Video. The former, a Scripps Sports-operated network, will air 50 regular-season matches on Saturday nights. The latter will offer 27 exclusive matches, the majority to be streamed on Fridays, and a quarterfinal in the first year of its agreement.

Despite supplying different needs for each broadcast partner, the league is streamlining operations by offering a base complement of technologies. For example, each nationally broadcast game will have a minimum 12 cameras, an upgrade from last year’s six — and the continuation of VAR (video assistant referee), which the league launched in 2023 as the first women’s professional soccer league to do so. This upgrade in the game-day camera arsenal will also assist in the league’s final piece of its broadcasting puzzle: the inclusion of NWSL+.

“With the help of Endeavor Streaming,” says Gordon, “we were able to build out an engaging consumer experience. [NWSL Director, Digital Operations,] Antonia Loffredo has been key in working with their team to make sure it’s ready to debut this weekend.”

Unlike media partners requiring a cable provider or subscription, the league’s new direct-to-consumer (DTC) platform is completely free. Previously offered only to international fans in more than 25 countries through DAZN and Tigo, the service will stream 69 matches without requiring authentication.

CBS will broadcast 20 total games, including the 2024 NWSL Championship.

“Since these games are produced and distributed by us,” adds Gordon, “the objective of NWSL+ was to increase awareness [of the league] and reach to all our fans. These games also are a tool to send our viewers to our national partners, so we’ll cross-promote and show live look-ins of our other games.”

On the local level, NWSL+ can also allow clubs to engage with regional networks and other broadcasters in their home markets to create potential partnerships. “We want our clubs to monetize and build their local fanbase,” he says, “but we also want them to create communities of fans across the country. It works out to be a great broadcast ecosystem because there are a lot of places for people to watch without having to spend a lot of money.”

The viewership model is paying off for certain clubs around the league. For instance, on March 13, the Washington (DC) Spirit inked a 10-game broadcast deal with the rebranded Monumental Sports Network. Available to domestic and international fans on NWSL+, the first broadcast under the new deal will be Washington Spirit at Seattle Reign FC on Sunday, March 17 at 6 p.m. ET.

Hybrid Model: Remote Productions Through VISTA Worldlink, Onsite National Broadcasts

With nearly 200 regular-season matches on five distinct outlets, the league’s broadcast and production team has lots of games on their plate. Leveraging its partnership with NEP Group and VISTA Worldlink’s Dania Beach, FL, facility, the NWSL will remotely produce 80%, or 146, of the 182 regular-season matches. That includes all 69 games on NWSL+, all 50 games and the Atlanta-based studio show on ION, 16 games on ESPN and ESPN2, all nine games on CBS Sports Network, and two games on CBS. The other 36 games in the regular season — all 27 on Amazon Prime Video, the nine other games on CBS, and four on ABC — and all seven postseason games will be produced by the broadcasters’ respective personnel onsite. Working inside VISTA Worldlink’s connected facility, which is also being used for the second season of MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, the league filled multiple teams and crews prior to this weekend’s season-opening matches.

ESPN will produce 20 total games, including four on ABC.

“[NWSL Senior Director, Broadcast and Production,] Meg Buchan was instrumental in putting together the above-the-line production teams and working with our partners to recommend staffing,” says Gordon. “We went from not having to hire 190 games’ worth of personnel to doing almost all of it. Megan and I laid out a plan in September as soon as there was an idea of what we were going to do, and it has been nice that a lot of it has come to fruition.”

In addition, Gordon and his team are working with VISTA Worldlink to produce a world feed to an increased number of international partners. Leveraging the talents of folks like VISTA Worldlink Executive Producer Mike Freedman, the league is able to distribute various feeds to specific destinations and a growing audience.

“[VP] Andrew Demsey, [Senior Manager, Sports Management,] Lindsey Landrum, and the rest of the IMG Endeavor team helped us select markets around the globe that have a lot of interest in the NWSL,” adds Gordon. “This was helped by the international signings that clubs have made during the offseason.”

Demonstrating the league’s broadcast expansion, Opening Weekend will offer the inaugural broadcast of three of its five media outlets. On Friday, March 15, Prime Video will produce the 2024 NWSL Challenge Cup featuring defending NWSL Champion Gotham FC vs. NWSL Supporters Shield winner San Diego Wave at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ, at 8 p.m. On Saturday, March 16, Kansas City Current will host Portland Thorns FC at 1 p.m. on ABC. On the same day, NWSL+ will air two games: Racing Louisville FC vs. Orlando Pride at 4 p.m. and North Carolina Courage vs. Houston Dash at 7 p.m. To end the day, ION will broadcast Utah Royals vs. Chicago Red Stars at 7:30 p.m. Opening Weekend wraps with two games on NWSL+ on Sunday, March 17: Seattle Reign FC vs. Washington Spirit at 6 p.m. and Los Angeles’s Angel City FC vs. Redwood, CA’s Bay City FC at 7:30 p.m.

Amazon will air 27 exclusive games on Prime Video.

New Venue on the Map: League Integrates KC Current’s CPKC Stadium With Infrastructure

In an offseason filled with storylines, one of the biggest is the highly anticipated opening of CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, MO. With an 11,500-seat capacity, the venue is the first built exclusively for a professional women’s soccer team. From an operational standpoint, the league needed to fiber the building and integrate it into its existing infrastructure. Luckily, the venue was built with the televised product in mind.

“This will be a made-for-TV stadium,” says Gordon. “It reminds me of one of the smaller soccer pitches in Europe, where the fans are on top of the field and will make for a great viewing experience in person and on the broadcast. From a technology standpoint, [the builders] invested a lot in fiber infrastructure to make it easier for our broadcasters and carved out spots for low endline cameras that’ll be used on national broadcasts.”

ION will have 50 games this season, including an Atlanta-based studio show.

As the first stadium to be built in the VAR era, CPKC Stadium is able to seamlessly fold in onsite needs. Because the first game has historic significance outside of the broadcast, it was important to give the locale a desirable window on Opening Day.

“We worked very closely with [KC Current founders] Angie and Chris Long to schedule this match on ABC,” says Gordon. “This will most definitely be a showcase stadium for the league on a global scale, and fans will be able to see that on each broadcast.”

New Production Wrinkles: AWS Cloud, Pitchside With Pixel Round Out Workflows

Among many elements of the NWSL’s production and operations plan, a trio of new workflows will further augment the viewing product. The first two, through a partnership with Amazon, will provide a lift behind the scenes: Amazon Web Services will migrate the NWSL media archive from the previous website to NWSL+, and a cloud-based solution will be tested offline.

“This will make it easier for fans to access matches and games on our new DTC platform,” says Gordon. “We’re excited to partner with Amazon and figure out the best way to integrate cloud production into the broadcasts produced on Prime Video.”

VAR will be used in its second season since debuting in 2023.

From a more front-facing perspective, a partnership with Google will allow content creators to leave their mark on each broadcast. The Pitchside With Pixel program will rely on Google’s AI-powered camera technology and the talents of superfans and professional content creators alike. First advertised as the Live Content Correspondent social-media pilot in 2023, the program will offer viewers exclusive, behind-the-scenes access, including footage from tunnels, sidelines, and press conferences.

A Successful Formula: Competitive Play on the Field, Expansion Off the Field

Although there’s a ton of buzz heading into the upcoming season, the NWSL is poised for even more growth over the next few years. Given involvement of the U.S. Women’s National Team in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, two new clubs entering the league in two years, and the festival that is the FIFA Men’s World Cup coming to North America in 2026, there’s much to look forward to. And the stellar play on the pitch is giving sports fans yet another reason to dedicate time to this burgeoning league.

“With 13 points separating first and last place last year, we are the most competitive soccer league in the world,” says Gordon. “With two more teams in 2026, we’ll have 50 more games on our schedule. When you add everything together, the next four years will be a great time to be in this league.”