Sky Deutschland, the German pay-TV broadcaster, has secured rights to the Women’s Super League (WSL), the top-tier women’s soccer competition in England, through a multi-year deal.
The agreement, according to reports, covers linear TV, IPTV, mobile, and online rights in Germany, as well as in Austria and Switzerland.
The deal adds to Sky Deutschland’s existing coverage of English soccer. The pay-TV network already holds rights to the men’s Premier League, with that deal running to May 2025.
As well as showing live WSL action, Sky Deutschland will also produce magazine-style shows, as well as show highlights footage, archive content, reports, documentaries, and short-form in-match clips.
Currently, rights to WSL action in Germany are held by Atalanta Media, the women's soccer-focused distribution agency. That deal, however, comes to an end at the culmination of the ongoing 2021-22 campaign.
Sky Deutschland forms part of the wider Sky Europe empire. The UK's regional branch of Sky is also the joint domestic broadcaster of the league (alongside the public-service BBC) in a deal running through 2023-24.
Pitch International, the UK-based sports agency, is responsible for the distribution of international rights to the league, which is organized and run by the Football Association governing body.
This is the second major move in terms of women’s soccer from Sky Deutschland earlier this month. a few weeks ago, the network extended and expanded its coverage of the Frauen DFB-Pokal, the top-tier German women’s soccer cup competition, in a deal starting later this year and running through 2025-26.
That rights agreement, which represents an expansion of an existing deal and was struck in time for International Women’s Day (March 8), covers all distribution methods – via linear, digital, and mobile.
