The broadcast reach of Athletes Unlimited got even stronger this week, as the pro women's sports organization scored a blockbuster media rights extension with ESPN on Wednesday, ensuring three more years of basketball, volleyball, and softball coverage.
"The growth we've seen across Athletes Unlimited's leagues speaks to the power and appeal of women's sports," said ESPN EVP of programming and acquisitions Rosalyn Durant. "We're excited to deepen our partnership and bring even more of these moments and athletes to fans everywhere."
As part of the extended partnership, ESPN will exclusively air 50 Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) games annually, including 47 regular-season matchups and the AUSL Championship Series, with the company's titan channel ABC also committed to airing the first-ever pro softball game on network television.
The broadcast giant already has a vested interest in softball's future, with the most recent Women's College World Series Finals delivering a record-high 2.2 million viewers across ESPN networks last June.
AU's basketball and volleyball footprints are also growing, with all 24 games from each competition's season now set to air live each year.
"This renewed and expanded partnership affirms the strength of our properties and reflects the growing enthusiasm for women's professional sports," said AU chief broadcast officer Cheri Kempf.
The WNBA blew past viewership records throughout its 2025 campaign, ESPN reported this week, with the league delivering the network's most-watched season in history.
ESPN averaged 1.3 million viewers through 25 regular-season games, accounting for a 6% year-over-year increase, with the full season's 49 broadcasts averaging 1.2 million viewers per game — up 5% over last year's lineup.
Postseason coverage was especially popular, with the Las Vegas Aces' championship-winning series sweep averaging 1.5 million viewers per game to become the second-most watched WNBA Finals behind the 2024 edition.
The gains also hit the ESPN studio, with the network's WNBA Countdown averaging 437,000 viewers through the 2025 Playoffs — up 30% over last season — while Hoop Streams and The Wrap-Up saw a 60% year-over-year viewership growth across eight postseason episodes.
Overall, the numbers punctuate the stability of the WNBA, with viewership continuing to rise despite superstars like Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese all missing screen time due to injury this year.
The dividends, as well, are already paying off, as the WNBA embarks on a new $2.2 billion media deal promising at least $200 million per year in returns through the 11-year contract.
With the league currently wading through contentious CBA negotiations, this year's soaring ratings seemingly back the WNBA Players Association's arguments for increased investment and revenue sharing.
NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman is sticking around, with Sportico reporting last Friday that the NWSL Executive Committee voted for a three-year contract extension for the league leader through the 2028 LA Olympics.
The 48-year-old inked her initial four-year deal in 2022, quickly driving commercial growth after joining an NWSL still reeling from a period of league scandals.
Under her purview, Berman led the NWSL through successful CBA negotiations and inked a blockbuster $60 million-per-year media deal, boosting team valuations from the low single-digit millions to upwards of $250 million.
Berman also helped drive the league's ongoing expansion, seeing 12 clubs in action during her debut 2022 season before growing to 14 in the 2024 campaign — with additional expansion sides Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC ballooning the field to 16 squads beginning next year.
Despite those successes, Berman recently faced backlash surrounding the league's handling of on-field medical incidents, with Sportico's sources noting that the board of governors' decision to move forward with the NWSL commissioner's contract extension was not unanimous.
"We're proud to have Jessica Berman's continued leadership," executive committee chair and Gotham FC owner Carolyn Tisch Blodgett said in a league statement. "Under her guidance, the NWSL has reached new heights in attendance, revenue, and global visibility. This extension ensures we can continue building on that momentum."
The WNBA is coming to USA Network, as the league finalized a new 11-year media deal with NBC Universal sub-conglomerate Versant this week, expanding national coverage ahead of the 2026 season.
Running through the 2036 campaign, the deal allows USA Network to air at least 50 WNBA games per season, as the league's schedule continues to expand in the wake of incoming expansion teams.
Featured programming will include "marquee Wednesday night doubleheaders" as well as shared rights to the WNBA Playoffs and Finals, with the channel also providing its own pre- and post-game studio programming for each game.
While the parties did not reveal the additional value of this week's deal, the new agreement takes advantage of the league's exponentially increasing TV ratings by building on the original landmark 2024 WNBA media rights contract — an 11-year agreement valued at $2.2 billion that kicked in with the 2025 season.
"As demand for women's basketball continues to rise, partnerships like this expand the visibility and accessibility of our game," said WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert in Tuesday's press release. "By establishing a weekly primetime destination for fans, this agreement will showcase the excitement of the WNBA to more households than ever before and further elevate the incredible athletes in this league."
The NWSL is expanding its footprint across ESPN, with the broadcaster signing on to carry 16 additional regular-season games in both the 2026 and 2027 seasons, upping the platform's total to 33 matches per year.
ESPN will also introduce a season-long "Match of the Week" centerpiece series, as well as live coverage of NWSL Decision Day, when eight concurrent matches will close out the season on the same day.
"The NWSL showcases some of the best athletes in the world," ESPN EVP of programming and acquisitions Rosalyn Durant said in a press release. "We are proud to increase our commitment on ABC and ESPN, and to further elevate women's sports and the athlete stories."
This media rights extension builds on the league's ongoing blockbuster four-year, $240 million TV deal with ESPN, adding inventory for the final two seasons of the November 2023 agreement.
The deal expansion comes in light of the league's significant growth this season, with the NWSL seeing gains across both attendance and viewership, including a 72% year-over-year ratings rise on ESPN.
"This supplemental agreement underscores the growing demand for women's soccer and ensures our players and clubs receive the visibility they deserve on some of the most prominent sports platforms," said NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman in a statement.
The WSL hit some opening day snags over the weekend, with a last-minute media deal causing broadcasts Stateside to generate confusion and widespread technical difficulties as the UK league's big-name US talent pool took the pitch.
First, in Friday's 2025/26 season kick-off match, ESPN+ served fans an error screen during the first 15 minutes of six-time defending WSL champion Chelsea's 2-1 win over Manchester City.
Then on Saturday morning, skips and lags continuously interrupted Arsenal's 4-1 victory over the recently promoted London City Lionesses.
Notably, the WSL media rights extension deal with ESPN+ — the 2024/25 US carrier of the top-flight UK league —came together at the very last minute.
As such, the WSL left fans in the dark by omitting US coverage details from all promotions in the lead-up to the 2025/26 season's opening weekend — possibly missing out on a big Stateside moment as USWNT stars like Naomi Girma, Catarina Macario, Emily Fox, and Alyssa Thompson kick off their club campaigns in the UK.
"The delays weren't about lack of interest so much as the sheer number of changes the league has been managing," former head of broadcast at WSL Football Andrea Ekblad told The Athletic this week.
"Of course, nobody wants a broadcast deal announced only hours before kickoff. That's not ideal," she continued. "But continuing the [ESPN] partnership makes great sense."
The NWSL has reportedly threatened to fine the No. 1 Kansas City Current for delaying their August 16th kick-off against the No. 2 Orlando Pride due to unsafe field-level heat ahead of the planned CBS broadcast.
The Athletic wrote late last week that the NWSL could fine Kansas City for "breaking protocols by asking for a heat check after the league decided to go forward with the game."
"Internally, we flagged that a 3 PM kickoff in Kansas City in August was probably going to have a problem with the extreme heat issues that we're seeing this summer," NWSL Players Association (NWSLPA) executive director Meghann Burke said.
"While forecasts guide planning, we primarily rely on real-time, on-site weather data to make informed decisions in accordance with our inclement weather policies and protocols," the NWSL responded in a statement.
The league signed a four-year, $240 million US media rights deal with CBS, ESPN, Prime Video, and ION in 2023, with this month's Kansas City vs. Orlando showdown marking the seventh of 11 regular-season CBS matches on deck for 2025.
The heat delay caused the network to shift game-time coverage to its streaming app while CBS switched back to regional programming.
While both teams' medical and technical staffs cited dangerous playing conditions, the NWSL prioritized broadcast commitments, adding to rising concerns about player safety amid the league's rapid growth.
Just Women’s Sports (JWS), the leading multimedia platform dedicated exclusively to women's sports, today announced the continuation of its partnership with the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) for the fourth consecutive year as an official digital media partner.
Just Women’s Sports has secured the rights to distribute official NWSL game highlights for the ongoing season as the league returns from its summer break and the playoff push begins.
From its launch, JWS has been a go-to platform for NWSL fans. Last year, the platform drove 172 million social impressions across its NWSL content, while also hosting a live show at the NWSL Championship as well as the official NWSL Championship Weekend party.
Just Women’s Sports’ studio show Sports Are Fun! is hosted by NWSL alum and two-time NWSL champion Kelley O’Hara, with guests including Gotham FC star Midge Purce and recent NWSL vets Merritt Mathias and Darien Jenkins.
"Throughout the NWSL’s partnership with Just Women’s Sports, our joint efforts in amplifying and elevating female athletes while inspiring fans have been a major driver in the growth of women’s sports," said NWSL director of media partnerships Servi Barrientos. "The sky is the limit as we continue to build on this momentum to reach fans in new ways and elevate our league."
"Covering the NWSL is core to our mission at Just Women’s Sports," said JWS founder and CEO Haley Rosen.
"The league’s growth has been incredible, and there’s still so much more to go. Being able to share these highlights with our next-gen audience is key to serving our fans and growing this league."
After shattering records in 2024, WNBA viewership has continued to do numbers throughout the 2025 season — even as some of the league's biggest stars watch from the sidelines.
According to a Wednesday Front Office Sports report, 2025 WNBA matchups are averaging 794,000 viewers per game across national networks so far — a 21% increase over 2024's full-season viewership average.
Following one of the highest-profile rookie seasons in league history, the Caitlin Clark-fueled Indiana Fever quickly became the cornerstone of the league's broadcast boom, routinely accounting for the bulk of regular viewership.
However, the WNBA's most significant gains came elsewhere, with non-Fever matchups currently drawing 549,000 viewers per game, marking a 37% year-over-year increase.
Despite Clark sitting out 13 of the Fever's 26 regular-season games with a lingering groin injury, Indiana's coverage remains strong at 1.26 million viewers per game for a 7% increase over 2024.
Of the league's slate of national broadcasters, CBS reported a 5.5% increase and ESPN saw a 3% rise. Meanwhile, NBA TV's relatively low 339,000 viewers-per-game offset its steep 58% growth.
Next season, the WNBA will enter an 11-year, $2.2 billion joint media rights deal with NBC Sports while ESPN stays on as partner, as both networks bet on the league regardless of a single superstar's uncertain availability.
UEFA's 2025 Euro tournament is already knocking on the door of history, as the European Championship is on track to shatter the competition's overall attendance record — despite not kicking off until next week.
This year's Switzerland-hosted edition has sold more than 570,000 of the 673,000 tickets available as of Thursday.
Given that tally, England's 2022 Euro record of 574,875 is likely to fall in the coming days.
In addition to the tickets already on sale, stadiums will release another 32,000 to accommodate the knockout stages in the coming weeks.
While Switzerland is poised to claim the Euro's total attendance title by the competition's July 27th finale, England's single-game record crowd of 87,192 — set at the 2022 championship match — will be safe, as no Swiss venue matches the capacity of London's iconic Wembley Stadium.
The 2025 Euro final will be a much more elite affair, as only 34,250 seats are available at Basel's St. Jakob-Park — the largest of the tournament's eight venues.
That said, this summer's European Championship will have more eyes on it than ever before, and not just from the stands.
The 2022 edition shattered viewership records worldwide, but the 2025 Euro has a chance to level up even more, as the tournament has seen its global broadcast footprint expand — particularly in the US.
UEFA inked a media deal with Fox Sports in late May, ensuring that audiences Stateside will have live access to at least 20 of the Euro's 31 matches next month.
While the overall tournament chases new attendance and viewership records, the 16 teams bound for Switzerland will be battling toward the 2025 Euro trophy when the competition kicks off next Wednesday.