Football Federation Australia (FFA) announced on Saturday that ESPN+ has reached a multi-year media agreement to broadcast the Hyundai A-League and Westfield W-League in the United States on ESPN+, the first multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company Direct-to-Consumer & International (DTCI) segment and ESPN.
The agreement will see ESPN+ carry up to 140 Hyundai A-League matches from October through to May and at least 17 Westfield W-League matches which will be streamed from October through to February.
Saturday’s announcement coincides with ESPN+ announcing that they have also reached similar agreements with the Chinese Super League and the Dutch Eredivisie.
FFA’s Chief Commercial Officer, Luke Bould, was excited that ESPN+ will stream the Hyundai A-League and Westfield W-League in the United States.
“FFA is delighted to have reached agreement for the Hyundai A-League and Westfield W-League to be available live and exclusive to American fans on ESPN+ for the next three seasons” said Bould.
“There is no greater name in the entertainment world than The Walt Disney Company and to be one first football leagues featured on their world leading new ESPN+ platform is a great coup.
“The US is an important market for us, particularly in women’s football.
“With so many Westfield Matildas playing there in the Westfield W-League off-season, there is a significant following which will only grow through this agreement,” concluded Bould.
Greg O’Rourke, FFA’s Head of Hyundai A-League and Westfield W-League, was equally pleased by the new agreement with ESPN+.
“This broadcast agreement will help expand the Hyundai A-League and Westfield W-League brands in one of the largest sports entertainment markets in the world,” said O’Rourke.
“In a week which saw Melbourne Victory secure the signature of Japanese Football legend Keisuke Honda, interest in our leagues only continues to grow around the world,” concluded O’Rourke.
“This agreement further boosts the position of ESPN+ as the leading new platform for live soccer matches in the U.S.,” said Burke Magnus, Executive Vice President, Programming and Scheduling, ESPN.
“These leagues join a lineup of hundreds of top-division live matches from Europe and North America, along with a strong lineup of original and studio soccer programming.”
Earlier this week, ESPN+ announced a new multi-year agreement with Serie A TIM that includes more than 340 Italian soccer matches per year. ESPN+ is already home to MLS LIVE – a collection of more than 250 Major League Soccer out-of-market matches, as well as local market media home for the Chicago Fire. The service will carry over 100 live matches from the UEFA Nations League (UNL), a new tournament among the 55-member nations from the Union of European Football Associations played on FIFA international match days beginning in September 2018. In addition, ESPN+ subscribers can watch hundreds of English Football League (EFL), the United Soccer League (USL) matches, and more.
ESPN+ is also the exclusive platform for ESPN FC, ESPN’s daily global soccer news, information and analysis program. Dan Thomas hosts alongside a roster of pundits featuring former international players Kasey Keller (USA) Craig Burley (Scotland), Shaka Hislop (Trinidad and Tobago), Stewart Robson (England), Alejandro Moreno (Venezuela), Steve Nicol (Scotland), and more.
About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the premium multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment and ESPN. It offers fans thousands of additional live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks.
Programming on ESPN+ includes hundreds of soccer matches a year, including MLS, UEFA Nations League, USL and more, as well as ESPN’s signature daily studio program ESPN FC. Additionally, fans get hundreds of MLB and NHL games, thousands of college sports events, exclusive Top Rank boxing, UFC (beginning in 2019), Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby, cricket, new and exclusive documentary films and series, acclaimed studio shows and the full library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films. Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and cancel at any time.
ESPN+ is an integrated part of the ESPN App, the leading sports app and the premier all-in-one digital sports platform for fans. The ESPN App is a showcase of the company’s culture of innovation, delivering a rich, personalized experience that curates all of ESPN’s incredible content around each fan’s individual tastes. ESPN+ is also be available through ESPN.com.
