DAZN, the international OTT subscription platform, will broadcast the upcoming Women’s International Champions Cup (WICC), the pre-season soccer competition in the US, to 175 markets and territories worldwide – 50 more than last year.
The four-team annual tournament is being held at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon from August 17 to 20 for the second consecutive year.
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DAZN said it will show all matches from the tournament live and on-demand on its main streaming platform, as well as for free on its women’s soccer channel.
The platform’s coverage will begin with France’s Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon) taking on England’s Chelsea before the US’ Portland Thorns play Mexico’s CF Monterrey later in the day. The two winning teams will play the final on August 20, with a third-place match taking place before the flagship game.
Last year, Portland Thorns won the title after defeating previous champions Lyon.
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DAZN secured global media rights to the WICC last year in a deal running through the 2021-22 to 2024-25 seasons. As part of the deal, the platform said it would broadcast all games on YouTube for the first two seasons to reach a wider audience.
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By GlobalDataThe platform’s coverage this year will span 175 markets across Europe, Asia, and Africa, including Australia, France, India, Italy, Japan, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Turkey, and the UK. Last year, it broadcast the tournament to 120 territories and markets, including the US.
However, international sports broadcaster ESPN holds the domestic rights to the tournament this year.
Shay Segev, DAZN’s chief executive, said: “Securing the global rights to the WICC is fantastic for DAZN as we continue to grow audiences and engagement in women’s sport.
“This tournament comes after an unforgettable summer of women’s football in Europe, and it promises to be an exciting precursor to the next UEFA Women’s Champions League season on DAZN.”
DAZN holds the global rights for the UEFA Women’s Champions League through a four-year agreement with UEFA that began with the 2021-22 season. Under that deal, DAZN has exclusive live rights to the competition in all territories except the Middle East and North Africa (where it can offer clips and highlights), and China and its territories.
The platform also shows games live and for free on its YouTube channel to target a wider audience.
In May, Relevant Sports Group, organizer of the WICC, named financial services company Ally as the presenting partner for this year’s edition, replacing beer brand Budweiser, who held the position for the 2019 and 2021 tournaments. The 2020 edition was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ally has been a partner of the tournament since 2016 and supported the event in 2020 and 2021 through various initiatives. The financial services company is also the league-wide sleeve sponsor of the US National Women’s Soccer League.
The Women’s Cup, a rival to the Women’s International Champions Cup, is also set to return this weekend (August 14) with an expanded six-team format, with Racing Louisville FC’s Lynn Family Stadium in Kentucky hosting the tournament.
Participants include NWSL’s Racing Louisville and OL Reign, along with Liga MX Femenil’s Club America, the WE League’s Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza, Women’s Super League team Tottenham Hotspur, and Italy’s Serie A Femminile side AC Milan.
