Women’s Super League viewing figures soar after streaming switch to YouTube

Viewing figures for Women’s Super League games streamed online have more than trebled this season following the switch to YouTube as the division’s streaming platform.

Until this summer, WSL matches not selected for live broadcast by domestic rights holders, the BBC and Sky Sports, were shown on the FA Player, a free online service that enabled fans to watch if they registered an account. On the FA Player, the record-highest viewership for a WSL game had been Arsenal’s home game against Bristol City in 2023-24, attracting 78,050 views. In contrast, more than a quarter of a million people watched the WSL game between Leicester and Arsenal live on YouTube last month, setting a new record for a non-television WSL fixture streamed online.

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The cumulative total of live views on WSL games on YouTube after three game-weeks has already reached 1,576,848, excluding any viewers who have replayed the match after it was live. Those audience numbers following the streams will undoubtedly have been boosted by the fact that Arsenal – the club with by far the largest number of match-going fans in the WSL last season – were not selected for live television broadcast in two of the three rounds of fixtures so far. Their 0-0 draw with Everton at the Emirates Stadium last Sunday attracted the best streaming figures of game-week three, with 148,000 live views.

The best-watched match on the streaming service during the opening weekend in September was Manchester United’s victory over West Ham (184,400). Since the end of that game, the replay page has attracted a further 20,000 views.

Selected Women’s Championship matches have also been shown on YouTube this season, and the opening-round match between London City Lionesses and newly promoted Newcastle set a new streaming record for the second tier of 46,050 live views.

The move to streaming on YouTube, which followed Women’s Professional Leagues Limited [WPLL] taking control of running the WSL from the Football Association, comes at a time when discussions are ongoing with broadcasters regarding the next major television rights deal for the WSL and Championship beyond 2025. The existing deal, shared between the BBC and Sky, was set to end in 2024 but was rolled over for one more season while giving all parties more time to work on a longer-term rights deal.

Simultaneously, the rights to broadcast the Women’s Champion League are also up for grabs beyond 2025, when the streaming platform DAZN’s existing deal with Uefa ends.