​Entering the most influential media rights cycle in the league’s young history, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) had a unique opportunity to capitalize on the momentum of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. We were brought in to advise the league owners and executives on the universe of potential media partners, identify the platforms best suited to generate exposure, reach new fans and deliver more revenue to the League than ever before. We succeeded across all three and negotiated key terms of new, long-term domestic and international rights agreements.

Our experience in the sector gave us the smarts to provide the NWSL with an in-depth report on the U.S. sports media market, including economic factors, TMT & Ad sector data, viewership performance and cycle-over-cycle rights fees. We then applied this research to develop a fair market valuation of the NWSL’s domestic media rights. At the same time, we made a detailed assessment of all active buyers, on both linear channels and digital platforms. Our work, paired with its data-driven valuation, provided the NWSL with a clear point of view on its position in the market and enabled the development of a targeted media rights sales strategy.

Thanks to our close relationships with the broadcast market we were able to conduct a thorough sales process, resulting in successful agreements with CBS Sports and Twitch that secured distribution for the NWSL across FTA, Pay TV and digital platforms. An unprecedented level of exposure and revenue for the National Women’s Soccer League in 2020 and beyond.