The deal is the first broadcast contract negotiated by the newly-formed Women’s Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL) and has been cautiously welcomed by fans, clubs and administrators alike. It takes the overall commercial value of women’s football in the UK to well over £100m after Barclays doubled its sponsorship of the WSL and Women’s Championship to £45m over three years.

That deal, which grants the bank naming rights over the country’s top two divisions, also kicks in from the start of the 2025-26 season.
The WPLL was formed after the FA agreed that stewardship of the women’s game should fall outside its remit. The authenticity of the move was questioned in some quarters after it was revealed that the FA had provided a £20m interest-free loan to cover the WPLL’s running costs. These latest financial figures will come as a boost to supporters of the decision to split from the men’s game.
Sky are providing the majority of funding for the deal while BBC Sport is making a significantly smaller contribution. This means that of the 132 WSL games each season, 118 will be broadcast on Sky Sports – 78 of which will be an exclusive basis – and the BBC will show 21 games each season – 14 exclusively.
Most of the remaining 40 matches will be available to watch across either broadcasters’ digital platforms, via the WPLL website or both.
The chief executive of WPLL, Nikki Doucet, heralded the long-term vision for the women’s game that both media outlets had demonstrated in recent years.
“Agreeing the next cycle of broadcast rights was a priority for us and we are very fortunate to have two premium broadcast partners in Sky and the BBC who believe in the future and value of women’s football as much as we do,” she said.
“The growth of the game is undeniable, and this deal is another step in the right direction and positive news for the fans, the players and the clubs. They provide excellent visibility coupled with first-class production values and we look forward to building on our partnership over the coming years.”
Some criticism has arisen surrounding the length of the deal. Tom Garry of the The Guardian has suggested that, while the WPLL should be applauded for generating such a sustained level of secure income, the latter stages of the deal could prove overly favourable to Sky and the BBC if the women’s game grows in line with some of the more optimistic forecasts over the next five years.
There are also concerns that a reliance on broadcasters could negatively impact some of what makes the professional women’s game so much more appealing than the men’s.
Chief among such concerns are whether broadcasters will be able to dictate kick-off times to the detriment of travelling fans and whether televised games will negatively impact in-ground attendances, as has been the case in the Italian men’s game, for example.