Sky Sports could appear to 50 additional WSL games
Sky Sports will hold talks with the Women’s Super League about relaying as much as 50 extra matches each season from the 2026-27 project onwards.Under the terms
of the WSL growth to 14 clubs authorized yesterday, the component list will grow to 182 games from 2026 and Sky wants to include them to its ever-growing football portfolio. Under the terms of a new five-year deal which starts this summertime, Sky has live rights for 118 of the 132 WSL games in a 12-club competitors with BBC having special rights to 14 matches and the broadcasters committing to joint coverage of seven fixtures.Advertisement Related: How WSL’s expansion to 14
teams will improve the ladies’s football pyramid|Suzanne Wrack With the WSL clubs accepting promote 2 additional sides from the Championship, the fixture list will grow considerably and the Guardian has learned Sky is standing by the principle that every match ought to continue to be televised.Sky is understood to be contributing around ₤ 60m of the record ₤ 65m joint-deal with the BBC, with its total financial investment in the ladies’s game well over ₤ 100m when production and marketing expenses are consisted of. Comprehensive settlements with the WSL regarding the extra components have yet to take place and it is uncertain whether Sky will be asked to pay an additional rights cost for them, although it would be expected to cover production costs.As the contracts have been signed for a 132-game season, the WSL could theoretically put the rights for the additional games out to tender, although provided their close relationship with Sky it is unlikely to do so.Advertisement Sky is providing more football to their customers every year, with its live Premier League schedule increasing from 128 to 215 games next season, on top of 1,059 matches from the English Football League and Carabao Cup.Industry experts predict Sky will lobby for each Premier League game to be provided for live broadcast in the next TV rights cycle from 2029 onwards, a significant change that would need Uefa to raise the 3pm Saturday blackout stated in Article 48 of their constitution.