Sky Sports and the BBC have struck a landmark deal for the broadcast of the Women’s Super League in English soccer.

It will ensure that 44 games are broadcast live on Sky Sports and 22 on the BBC with 12 of the latter guaranteed for the flagship BBC One Channel at a specific 1230 time slot on a Sunday.

This means that three games from every round of fixtures will be shown live across the two broadcasters and all the other games will be streamed live on the FA Player.

It will make the Barclays Women’s Super League one of the most widely accessible football leagues in Europe and is a major step forward for women in the world of sport.

The deal is reported by multiple sources to be worth an estimated £7 million per year and will run for three years from the 2021-22 season.

Three-quarters of the money will be distributed to the clubs in the top flight with the rest given to clubs in the second-tier Championship, serving to bolster the sustainability of the professional game.

The BBC showed there was a mass audience for the Women’s game with 28.1 million tuning in to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2019, and 11.7 million watching England’s semi-final against the United States.

“This is fantastic news for sports fans and for women’s football,” said Barbara Slater, Director of Sport at the BBC.

“We are delighted to offer the League on a free-to-air platform to ensure the sport, and the players, connect with the widest possible audience.”

“We will be giving the WSL the full Sky Sports treatment with lengthy build-ups and reaction to all live matches, plus a daily narrative of the league across Sky Sports News and our digital platforms,” added Rob Webster, Managing Director of Sky Sports.

“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.”

It is a real breakthrough for coverage of Women’s sport and a significant moment in the journey towards genuine equality.

We will cover the announcement at this Thursday’s Women in Sport Conference which already has over 200 registrations and will be a key set piece in determining where the world of Women’s sport has arrived to in 2021.

 

Sport for Business Partners