The National Women’s Soccer League is moving its content beyond its media partners and expanding it with Women’s Sports Network through a new multiyear partnership.
Launched by FAST Studios in 2022, WSN is a free, ad-supported streaming platform focused exclusively on women’s sports. Its new agreement with the NWSL, covering the 2026 and 2027 seasons, further supports the league’s push to grow visibility, especially through expanded athlete-driven storytelling across WSN’s linear and digital platforms.
“We’re the cable alternative for women’s sports, delivering cord-cutters at scale,” Stuart McLean, CEO of FAST Studios, told The Athletic. “Leagues look to us to expand access and engagement across platforms. Success for us is when existing and new fans are not only watching highlights, but consistently returning to the platform to follow athletes, discover new content and engage with the NWSL in a more ongoing way.”
The partnership with the WSN includes special on the road episodes of the network’s flagship studio program, “Game On” (similar to ESPN’s “SportsCenter”), filmed at NWSL stadiums while also working with NWSL teams and players to develop and distribute original series, including an integration with the network’s athlete-driven format (“The World According To …”) offering players a platform to share their perspectives beyond match play. The WSN will have access to archival footage dating to the league’s 2017 season.
The league and WSN believe this partnership will expand the league’s popularity.
“One of the biggest opportunities is discovery,” McLean said. “The Women’s Sports Network attracts sports fans who come for a range of premier women’s sports (volleyball, golf, sailing, etc.), and by bringing NWSL content into that environment, the league is introduced to a broader audience that may not yet be regular viewers.”
The network’s focus on player-driven storytelling helps convert that discovery into deeper engagement, McLean said. “When fans connect with athletes and their stories, they’re more likely to follow the league more consistently,” he said.
“We are seeing more and more that people are becoming fans of players, which then leads to fandom of a team,” Servi Barrientos, the director of media partnerships at the NWSL, told The Athletic.
The announcement comes on the heels of a landmark opening weekend for the NWSL: A whopping 129,202 fans attended eight matches, a league record, including more than 30,000 fans at Boston Legacy FC’s inaugural home game, the largest debut crowd in league history.
The league has also experienced a significant growth in its broadcast audience since signing a $240 million media deal in 2023, splitting its rights across multiple partners (ESPN, CBS, Prime Video and Scripps Sports) before adding Victory+ to the mix in September. According to the NWSL, viewership of the league’s marquee match among adults ages 18-34 increased by 70 percent year over year. The 2025 NWSL Championship reached an average of 1,184,000 viewers in prime time on CBS, marking the league’s most-watched match in history.
The marquee broadcast deal brought not only more exposure to the league but also a viewing experience that can feel increasingly fragmented for fans trying to track down matches in one place. By the league’s own numbers, the strategy worked in its first year, though it came alongside the growing challenge of simply figuring out where to watch.