The Women’s Super League (WSL) has confirmed the renewal of its media rights contracts with Sky Sports and BBC Sport for one more year.
Sky and the BBC will cover the top-flight English women’s football league for the full 2024/25 season, with the former broadcasting 44 matches and the latter 22.
BBC Sport’s coverage will be distributed across its BBC One and BBC Two channels as well as via the BBC Red Button on demand service and BBC iPLayer website. Sky’s coverage will be distributed via Sky Showcase.
“We’re very pleased that Sky Sports and BBC Sport are continuing their broadcast rights partnership with us for a further season,” said Nikki Doucet, CEO for the Barclays Women’s Super League and Barclays Women’s Championship.
“The past three years have been incredibly exciting for the women’s game – each broadcaster’s coverage of the Barclays Women’s Super League has helped to take the game to another level and open it up to new audiences, and we’re looking forward to seeing that continue and momentum build as we move into a standalone entity.”
Sky and the BBC have been media partners of the WSL for the past three years, during which time the league and women’s football in general has enjoyed a surge in popularity.
The league reported record-breaking figures last season with increases in terms of both peak and average audience numbers. The success of the 2022 UEFA Women’s Euros and the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup contributed significantly to this increase in interest.
Sky Sports Managing Director, Jonathan Licht, added: “It’s a hugely exciting time for women’s football in this country. Extending our partnership with the Barclays Women’s Super League with more matches than any other broadcaster is fantastic news for Sky Sports customers.
“Audiences have increased hugely over recent years and we’re proud of our contribution to the growth of the game and women’s sport more broadly, showing 70% of all live action last year on our channels.”
Reports of media rights renewal were published in The Telegraph last week, with the broadsheet newspaper also reporting that the WSL had extended its title sponsorship with Barclays bank. The latter has not yet been confirmed.
The rumours of renewals and this week’s confirmation of media rights extensions are indicative of the increasing popularity and visibility of women’s football, particularly in Europe. This has come with significant commercial opportunities for the sport and its prospective partners.
Philip Bernie, Interim Director of BBC Sport, said: “Women’s football has reached unprecedented heights, with the Lionesses’ huge international successes at the Women’s EUROs and World Cup, and a terrific contest for this season’s BWSL title.
“We’re pleased that BBC Sport will continue to showcase the great excitement of our domestic league by extending our partnerships with the Women’s Super League.”
