NWSL cuts ties with Victory+, becoming latest to pivot from platform amid reported nonpayment
Another domino has fallen for Victory+: On Thursday, the NWSL became the latest to cut ties with the streaming platform. In a statement, the NWSL announced that it had terminated its agreement with Victory+ effective immediately.The move comes as Victory+ has experienced reported financial difficulties, leading multiple teams to pull out of their deals. The NWSL severed the partnership after less than a year following a missed rights payment, per multiple reports.Per the statement, games on Victory+ will instead be shown on the leagues free direct-to-consumer platform NWSL+ starting this weekend. Sundays match between the Utah Royals and the Portland Thorns will be the first to reflect this change.A broadcast update from the National Womens Soccer League. For more information: https://t.co/1FOIAfrFE3pic.twitter.com/BtMcXNpVZs National Womens Soccer League (@NWSL) July 30, 2026In addition to the NWSL, five individual clubs (Bay FC, Washington Spirit, Orlando Pride, Gotham FC and Angel City FC) have regional deals with Victory+; the Pride and Bay bothannounced on Thursday that those agreements have been terminated, with Awful Announcing reporting that Gotham will make a similar announcement on Friday.The NWSL becomes the latest to pull out of Victory+ amid the platforms ongoing financial troubles. On July 15, the Texas Rangers announced that the franchise would be switching from Victory+ to BZZR for all local broadcasts.On the same day, the Anaheim Ducks reportedly informed Victory+ that it would be terminating the partnership and lining up a new platform for next season. At the time, Sports Business Journal reported that Victory+ had been struggling to secure funding since February and had missed rights payments to teams across multiple leagues.The NWSLs current media rights deal, which was signed in 2023, splits games between CBS, ESPN, Amazons Prime Video and Scripps ION. But with the expansion of the league to 16 teams in 2026, the NWSL added Victory+ to the rotation ahead of the season to accommodate the larger slate of games.The free, ad-supported service was scheduled to air 57 total NWSL matches through a weekly Sunday night show, with several regular-season matches initially scheduled for 2027. Its unclear whether those games will air on NWSL+, or if the league will find a new home for them ahead of next year.Despite recent issues, Victory+ has multiple deals still in place. The Dallas Stars have yet to follow the Rangers in leaving the platform, and agreements with the WNBAs Minnesota Lynx and Atlanta Dream are still going strong.