The Women's Super League (WSL) is set to reintroduce Sunday evening kick-offs for the new season, marking a significant shift in its broadcast strategy. This change comes after the league experienced indifferent viewing figures last season, when the majority of televised games were scheduled for Saturday and Sunday lunchtimes.
The WSL plans to offer broadcasters six different TV slots for the 2026-27 campaign. Sky Sports, which holds the live rights for 163 of the 182 WSL games, will retain its Saturday 12:45pm and Sunday noon slots, while also gaining new regular kick-off times at 7pm on Friday and 6pm on Sunday. The BBC will broadcast 19 matches live at 12:30pm on Saturdays and 2:30pm on Sundays.
This new strategy aims to spread games across the weekend, addressing issues from last season where multiple televised matches often kicked off simultaneously, potentially diluting the audience. The Sunday evening slot, despite being dropped last season due to negative feedback from clubs and fans regarding poor attendances, was reportedly Sky's best-performing slot in 2024-25, with an average audience of 144,000.
To balance these interests, the Sunday evening game will mostly be brought forward to 6pm, with potential adjustments to avoid clashes with Premier League matches. The WSL also intends to schedule derbies for this slot and Friday evenings where feasible.