Sportdigital extends Women’s Super League rights
August 31, 2026 08.12 Europe/London By Jörn Krieger

German pay-TV broadcaster Sportdigital has extended its TV rights to the Barclays Women’s Super League (BWSL) for another season, retaining live coverage of England’s top women’s football division through 2026/27.

The new rights deal also includes the Subway Players Cup. Coverage of the new season begins on 4 September, with the expanded BWSL featuring 14 teams for the first time and a total of 182 league matches.

Three clubs have been promoted to the top flight for the new campaign: Birmingham City, Crystal Palace and Charlton Athletic. Birmingham return as champions, while Crystal Palace and Charlton have also secured promotion.

The opening fixture sees London City Lionesses host Manchester United on 4 September. The match will also mark Alexia Putellas’ league debut for London City. The former Barcelona midfielder, a two-time FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year, has moved to England after 14 years with the Catalan club.

The BWSL continues to feature a strong contingent of German internationals. Sportdigital’s coverage will include Rebecca Knaak and Sydney Lohmann at Manchester City, Sjoeke Nüsken at Chelsea, Lea Schüller at Manchester United, Selina Cerci and Lisa Baum at Arsenal, and Vivien Endemann at Liverpool. Shekiera Martinez will join the German contingent at Tottenham Hotspur.

“Not least the move of Alexia Putellas to the BWSL shows how important the league has become,” said Bendix Eisermann, Managing Director of Sportdigital, adding that the broadcaster was seeing strong demand for elite women’s football and had therefore sought to extend its rights for another season.

Sportdigital will show all BWSL matches and the Subway Players Cup either on its linear Sportdigital1+ channel or through the Sportdigital+ streaming app.

The sports channel has held rights to the BWSL in recent seasons, with the renewal extending its coverage into the 2026/27 campaign. The deal comes as the league enters a new phase of expansion, with the addition of two teams increasing the number of league fixtures substantially.