The CW Looks to Add More Live Sports, Potentially Licensing ESPN+ Streaming-Exclusives
The CW Looks to Add More Live Sports, Potentially Licensing ESPN+ Streaming-Exclusives
The network has compiled an impressive list of live sports rights so far, but it’s apparently not satisfied.
Broadcast channels are having a live sports moment. The toppling of the regional sports network model has prompted more and more leagues to send major games to broadcast networks, and one beneficiary of that pattern has been The CW. The channel has spent the last year compiling a wide range of live sports rights, but apparently, it’s not done. A new report from Deadline indicates that The CW is hoping to add more live sports in the future and that it could look to creative partnerships with streamers like ESPN+ to get them.
Key Details:
- The CW has acquired rights to Pac-12 and ACC events, NASCAR Xfinity Series races, WWE NXT wrestling, and more.
- The channel has been speaking to ESPN and other outlets about acquiring linear rights to streaming properties.
- ESPN+ has a wide range of sports that could fit on The CW, and there are other streaming-exclusive opportunities for the network to pursue as well.
Deadline spoke with CW president Dennis Miller at the company’s upfront presentation with advertisers this week, and the exec revealed that he would like to dedicate Sunday afternoons to high-quality live sports presentations. The channel already offers LIV Golf tournaments on Sundays, but Miller says the network is on the hunt for deals that could offer big-name events for broadcast on that day in order to make itself a more popular sports destination.
“We can’t compete, obviously, for the NFL as it’s been announced this week [by Netflix] or NBA, we won’t be in those conversations to date,” Miller said. “But we’d like to find something for Sunday and we’d like to find a nice companion piece to ‘Inside the NFL.’”
The CW has already built up a formidable collection of live sports, and it’s most recent deal saw it pick up the rights to stream 12 home football games from Oregon State and Washington State. NASCAR Xfinity Series races begin on the channel this year, and The CW also hosts ACC football and basketball games, as well as WWE NXT wrestling events.
Where Could The CW Look for More Live Sports?
Miller indicated that while The CW is always looking for more exclusive deals, it is also willing to get creative in order to secure more sports broadcasts. He said CW executives have been in contact with ESPN and other outlets about acquiring linear rights to properties that are housed on other mediums, such as streaming services.
“A lot of the other players in sports have too much sports than they can actually play in broadcast,” Miller said. “There’s this tension between, ‘I could get a huge check from a streamer, but no one will be able to find it anywhere’ and you get full reach, everyone in the country, for your college or your particular sport or league here.”
The channel’s representatives have been feeling out providers by asking, “Hey, why don’t we carve off a set of games and events here that we can put on and give the full reach of broadcast TV. You’re going to see more partnerships like that.”
There are lots of opportunities for Miller in this regard, including multiple possibilities from ESPN+, which offers thousands of exclusive games, matches, and events each year that simply don’t fit into the broadcast schedules of the linear ESPN networks. ESPN+ has exclusive deals with college sports conferences like the Patriot League and will regularly air games from larger conferences on the streamer. All of that could translate easily to The CW, and with the thousands of annual events on the platform, there’s almost certainly something in its inventory that The CW could acquire linear rights to for a reasonable price.
Where else could The CW look for streaming sports rights? Prime Video might be a good choice; that streamer recently acquired the rights to stream five NASCAR Cup Series races every year starting in 2025, and acquiring linear rights to that package could be the perfect compliment to Saturday Xfinity Series races on The CW, although the likelihood of Amazon giving up any of its rights is fairly small.
Netflix is unlikely to pick up the phone if The CW calls about linear rights to the package of Christmas Day NFL games the streamer locked down this week, however. Those games are quite likely to remain streaming exclusives; as the most recognized and most powerful brand in all of streaming, Netflix has no need to worry if it will draw big enough audiences to games without having a linear broadcast counterpart.
Keep an eye on The CW, sports fans. The channel is clearly willing to invest in live sports, and won’t be shy about thinking outside the box to seek sports rights that would appeal to its audience.
ESPN Select
ESPN Select is a streaming service that replaced ESPN+ and provides access to live NHL, MLB, and MLS games, PGA Tour Golf, international sports events, ESPN original programming, and a complete archive of “30 for 30.” Find out our review of the service and how to start streaming ESPN Select.