CBS Sports Acquires Broadcast, Streaming Rights to Barclays FA Women’s Super League
ViacomCBS adds yet another soccer league to its arsenal (no pun intended) of soccer streaming rights.
The company today announced a multi-year streaming and broadcasting deal for CBS Sports to become the exclusive U.S. English-language rights holder of the Barclays FA Women’s Super League (BFAWSL), one of Europe’s top women’s soccer leagues.
Matches will appear across Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network, with coverage during the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 WSL seasons. CBS Sports will deliver 57 BFAWSL matches during both the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 seasons. CBS Sports Network will air a select number of those matches exclusively, with the majority streaming on Paramount+.
“The Barclays FA Women’s Super League features some of the most recognizable soccer brands in the world, and is an excellent addition to CBS Sports’ premium soccer portfolio,” said Dan Weinberg, executive vice president of programming at CBS Sports. “We look forward to bringing the exciting action of the BFAWSL to fans across Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network. With our wide array of soccer properties and robust year-round match coverage, we are a must-have for soccer fans.”
If you’re keeping score, the BFAWSL is now the 16th soccer league ViacomCBS has added to its linear and streaming platform. To date, ViacomCBS holds the rights to the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Europa Conference League and UEFA Youth League, UEFA Women’s World Cup Qualifying, NWSL, the Women’s Cup, Concacaf national team competitions (Men’s World Cup Qualifiers, Women’s World Cup Qualifiers, Men’s Nations League and Women’s Nations League), Italy’s Serie A, Argentina’s Liga Profesional de Fútbol, Brazil’s Campeonato Brasileirão Série A, the Scottish Professional Football League (cinch Premiership, cinch Championship and Premier Sports Cup), and Asian Football Confederation competitions (AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar, AFC Champions League, AFC Women’s Asian Cup and AFC Asian Cup). The U.S. Men's National Team rights are still out there and could be in play for ViacomCBS moving forward.
“We are delighted to be partnering with CBS Sports for the next two seasons and are looking forward to the coverage they beam to households across the United States,” said James Ralley, the Football Association’s head of broadcast and media rights. “Their delivery of soccer, whether men’s or women’s, is of the highest quality, and their reputation within the industry is one that is growing rapidly. We look forward to working with them over the next few years.”
Paramount Plus
Paramount+ is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 40,000+ TV show episodes from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. and more. The lineup includes “1883,” “Tulsa King,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and “PAW Patrol.” Subscribers can watch the NFL, college football, The Masters, college basketball, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa, Serie A, and NWSL. The service also offers the option to watch your live CBS affiliate. The upgraded ad-free package includes premium movies and shows from Showtime.