Tampa’s United Soccer League secures a four-year TV contract with CBS

The USL Championship final will air on CBS, following the unveiling of a fresh media rights agreement on Tuesday.

The United Soccer League, headquartered in Tampa and responsible for overseeing both men’s and women’s soccer leagues across the nation, has officially sealed a four-year deal with CBS. This agreement includes TV coverage for 100 matches from its top two men’s divisions. Financial specifics of the deal have not been disclosed.

“This partnership is a clear indication of the USL’s growth and impact on domestic soccer, providing us with more national TV exposure and platforms to tell stories about our players, clubs and fans than ever before,” USL CEO Alec Papadakis said in a statement. “We are entering a new, exciting phase, both on and off the field, and we look forward to working with CBS Sports over the next four years to take our leagues and our game to new heights.”

The majority of the games will be broadcast on the Golazo Network, a free, ad-supported platform. However, they may also be eligible for local broadcast if teams can secure individual TV agreements. Additionally, 20 games will be exclusively available on CBS Sports Network and Paramount+, with a few more scheduled to air on the main CBS channel, including the USL Championship’s final match of the season.

In the USL Championship, the Tampa Bay Rowdies participate, and the Tampa Bay Sun will join the USL Super League starting in August 2024. The team’s name was unveiled during a press conference on Saturday. It’s worth noting that the women’s league featuring the Sun is not included in the CBS media rights agreement.

Sports Business Journal, a related publication, reported that the rights to the women’s league are being marketed separately, despite initial plans to bundle both leagues together.

Regarding the men’s competitions, there are expectations of a renewed TV contract with ESPN in the near future, as reported by the Sports Business Journal. While USL has not officially confirmed this news, they did state in a release that additional details regarding coverage for the 2024 USL season will be disclosed in the coming weeks.