Last night, (midnight UK time) the NWSL, America’s domestic women’s soccer football league, kicked off. The format is fairly straightforward and is typical of US sports. Fourteen teams play each other home and away and then there is a playoff to decide the champions. (Orlando Pride won last year.)
The media setup is interesting though. Four US broadcasters have the rights to the league – Prime Video, Ion Network and a mixture CBS/ABC/ESPN, which you can also get through ESPN+. Furthermore, dozens of games will be available for free via the NWSL+ streaming service. Women’s sport is growing. However, that’s quite a fractured distribution for a league that still needs to work hard to get eyeballs.
NWSL Commissioner Jessica Bergman told Puck’s John’s Ourand that “the most important priority in that media deal was to increase discoverability, to make sure that our games were in the places and spaces where people consume live content.” In theory, this makes perfect sense. Whether Bergman and her team have struck the right balance is an entirely different question.
Finding Where to Watch the NWSL
Being in lots of different places makes it more likely that people will stumble across you. There are plenty of potential fans who will have access to one or two of the places where you can watch the NWSL. However, being in such a wide range of places also makes it harder for people who are interested but less committed to keep track of things.
It’s simpler here in the UK. NWSL+ has over 190 games for free and TNT are showing a couple each week alongside a highlights programme. NWSL+ can be used in other countries too. I do wonder how wise it is to make your own streaming service – FA Player was a horrible experience. Perhaps the NWSL should have followed the WSL’s example of moving to broadcasting kcontent via YouTube, which really does appear to have worked. That would certainly be one of the “places and spaces” Berman was referring to.
I’ll be interested to see how the whole experience works and what the viewing figures are as the season gains momentum. I’m adopting Gotham FC as my team for the season. I usually support New York sides in American sports. Also Batman.
About the Author
