LOVB volleyball is coming back to cable, as the pro volleyball league announced a Wednesday night primetime partnership with USA Network for its 2026 season.
From January through April, USA Network will air a "Match of the Week" nearly every Wednesday evening, starting with a 2025 championship rematch between runners-up LOVB Nebraska and title-winners LOVB Austin on January 7th, 2026.
USA Network will also broadcast a portion of LOVB's 2026 postseason, including one semifinal and both games in the league's new two-match championship series.
Gearing up for its second season, LOVB features a talented player pool amid an increasingly crowded pro volleyball market.
One in every five LOVB athletes are Olympians, with 90% of the league's international players and 75% of its US players boasting national team experience.
Even more, growing demand for the sport has expansion on the horizon for the six-team league, with LOVB preparing to launch its seventh franchise in Los Angeles — backed by Angel City and Chelsea FC investor Alexis Ohanian — in 2027.
How to watch the 2026 LOVB season on USA Network
The second season of LOVB opens when inaugural champions Austin take on runners-up Nebraska at 6 PM ET on January 7th, 2026.
Live coverage will air on USA Network.
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."