Sky Sports has announced a ground-breaking, three-year deal with the FA to become the primary broadcaster of the Barclays Women’s Super League (BFAWSL) from September this year.
The deal will see Sky Sports show at least 35 games exclusively live per season and further strengthens the broadcaster’s position as the market leader in football and women’s sport. The primary rights were held by BT Sport.
The acquisition is the first commercial broadcast deal of its kind for the FA-owned league, considered to be the best women’s league in Europe and, arguably, the world.
Commenting on the deal, Rob Webster, MD, Sky Sports said:?“We are delighted to add the Barclays FA Women’s Super League to our expanding football portfolio. Our goal is to bring our customers more of what they love, and we are certain the WSL will be a success with our football-hungry viewers.
“We look forward to working with The FA and building a close partnership that helps grow the women’s game now and for future generations. With the addition of the Barclays FA Women’s Super League, Sky Sports truly is the home of football”.
Kathryn Swarbrick – FA director of commercial and marketing, added: “We are absolutely thrilled to have secured this game-changing partnership that will ensure the Barclays FA Women’s Super League becomes more visible than ever before.
“This is a multi-million pound commitment from Sky that is going to help push the women’s game on even further and support our ambition of having the best professional women’s sports league in the world.
“Sky’s vision for women’s football is very much aligned with our own, and that was made clear during the tender process where they outlined some very exciting plans for showcasing the Barclays Women’s Super League. We are really looking forward to working with them”.
Meanwhile, the BBC has secured a new rights deal for BFAWSL, with league games to be broadcast on BBC One and BBC Two over the next three years.
The BBC will show a minimum of 18 live games FTA, starting this September. Previously, these have been broadcast on Red Button and BBC iPlayer.
