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The CBS Sports Network has agreed an exclusive four-year broadcast rights deal to show the Women’s Super League in the United States.The WSL and CBS announced the deal on Thursday, which will run from the 2026-27 season through to 2029-30.
As part of the agreement, Paramount+ will stream 183 matches each season, CBS Sports Network will broadcast one match per week and select matches will also be shown on CBS Sports Golazo Network.
The value of the deal has not been disclosed but is described as a “record U.S. deal” for the WSL. It was negotiated by WSL Football’s international media rights representative, IMG
The deal marks a return to CBS for the WSL, with the network previously holding the English top flight’s rights during the 2023-24 season. ESPN has held the league’s U.S. broadcast rights for the past two years, with the initial ESPN deal and subsequent one-year extension both completed on the eve of the season’s start.
The 2026-27 season will be the WSL’s first following its expansion to 14 teams.
As part of the deal, WSL coverage will also feature in CBS’ women’s soccer show Attacking Third in addition to the network’s other studio programmes.
The WSL joins an extensive selection of women’s soccer rights already held by CBS Sports and Paramount+, including the NWSL, Women’s Champions League and Concacaf W Champions Cup.
In October 2024, the WSL agreed a new five-year deal with an estimated value of £65 million with Sky Sports and the BBC for its broadcast rights in the UK and Ireland, which began from the 2025-26 season.
A selection of U.S. women’s national team (USWNT) players have moved to the WSL in recent seasons, including defender Naomi Girma and winger Alyssa Thompson to Chelsea, and full-back Emily Fox to Arsenal.
‘Year-round access to women’s soccer’s biggest stars’
Analysis from women’s soccer writer Asli Pelit
For CBS Sports and Paramount+, landing the WSL is less about adding another property and more about consolidating themselves as the central destination for women’s soccer in the United States.
The network is one of the partners of the NWSL’s $240 million over four year media package and with this deal Paramount+ will have year-round inventory tied to some of the biggest stars in the global game, including players American audiences already recognize through the U.S. women’s national team ecosystem and UEFA Women’s Champions League exposure.
The deal also comes at a strategic moment for the WSL. England’s top flight is expanding while global interest in women’s soccer continues to rise ahead of the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. By streaming 183 matches per season, Paramount+ secures a consistent pipeline of live programming that appeals to a younger, digitally native audience increasingly comfortable consuming soccer across multiple leagues and time zones.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
US Women's national team, Arsenal WFC, Manchester United WFC, Chelsea FC Women, Manchester City WFC, NWSL, Sports Business, Women's Soccer
2026 The Athletic Media Company
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