National Women's Soccer League Games Are Headed to Lifetime
The National Women's Soccer League has earned a big win.
The NWSL announced Thursday that it has teamed up with A+E Networks to bring matches to Lifetime. With the partnership, A+E Networks will hold an equity stake in the league, while Lifetime, a subsidiary, will become an official NWSL sponsor and broadcast partner starting in April.
For fans, this means that games will finally air regularly on TV for the first time in the league's five-year history. Lifetime's broadcasts will start with a pre-game show every Saturday of the season at 3:30 p.m. ET, followed by the NWSL Game of the Week at 4 p.m. ET. The regular season starts in April and runs through September.
The league and A+E Networks are also creating NWSL Media, which will oversee global broadcast and sponsorship rights, plus manage all digital assets. That involves overseeing live-streams and producing more content, including pre-game, halftime, and post-game segments. Basically, what this comes down to is more soccer and an exciting league first.
It's a development that players are excited about, as we can see in the NWSL tweet below.
*Live look at how @NWSL players are feeling about today's announcement.*
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— NWSL (@NWSL) February 2, 2017