Lovb Austin Blocker Middle Molly McCage (5) passes the ball in front of Lovb Houston outside the striker Jess Mruzik (5) during the League 1 volleyball match between Lovb Austin and Lovb Houston on February 19, 2025, at the Heb Center at Cedar Park, Texas.
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Comcast Spinoff Versant concluded a multi -year media rights agreement with League One volleyball, the company announced on Tuesday.
Pouring’s USA Network will exclusively broadcast the “Match of the Week” of the League in Prime Time at 8 pm every Wednesday, in addition to the matches of playoffs and championships. The agreement occurs while female sports, especially volleyball, have experienced a major increase in popularity.
The terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. ESPN also holds the diffusion rights on LOVB.
“This is really the growth that we think is ahead of them as a league and for volleyball as a sport,” said Matt Hong, president of side sports. “We have seen a common vision, how we could lend our assets and that would complete what they do to develop their sport.”
The LOVB agreement marks the second agreement on sports rights for the slope, which should start comcast in 2026. In August, Versant and Nbcuniversal announced a six -year agreement with the United States Golf Association. This agreement is worth around 95 million dollars a year, according to people familiar with the agreement that spoke on condition of anonymity of non -public conditions.
Hong said the company had started to negotiate with LOVB just a few months ago. The agreement is added to existing female sports rights, which includes more than 500 hours of LPGA coverage per year and future media rights with WNBA from 2026.
For LOVB, the agreement means millions of additional eyelashes within time of time during prime time.
“The trading commitment guarantees that women’s volleyball has the platform it deserves – a coherent national coverage during prime time which reflects the caliber of our athletes and the passion of our fans,” said Raquel Braun, media chief for Lovb, in a statement.
Volleyball at almost all levels has been on a major rally. Overall, the participation of the Volleyball of the Court increased by 6.7% in 2024, according to Sports & Fitness Industry Association. At the high school level, more than 479,000 girls participated in volleyball during the 2023-24 season, marking a summit of all time, according to the National Federation of State Lycée associations.
University volleyball is also standing. The NCAA 2024 women’s volleyball tournament was the most consumed for ESPN, with more than 1.3 billion minutes viewed on its platforms, according to the network. The audience for the entire NCAA women’s volleyball tournament was 41% higher from year to year, ESPN said. And, when the Nebraska Huskers women’s team faced the Omaha Mavericks in 2023, more than 92,000 fans were present, the biggest crowd for a female sporting event.
Lovb, which presents both youth and a professional league, made its debut in 2020. The professional league, which presents a group of players with 23 combined gold medals, launched its inaugural season in January.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of Nbcuniversal, owner of CNBC. Square would become the new mother company of CNBC on the spin-off of Comcast de Visant.