Photo Copyright Rob Kinnan for USA TODAY Sports
A new National Women’s Soccer League era kicked off Friday night with the league’s first match streamed live on Amazon Prime. It was followed up by Saturday’s return to ESPN and the first women’s professional match ever shown on ABC. Later that night, Scripps made its NWSL debut through ION. The four-year contracts, along with a re-upping with CBS Sports, represent the league’s most ambitious effort yet to bring its product to the masses.
One week in, and Amazon is the clear leader among the four platforms. The opening was a touch on the corny side, but Mike Watts came on to open the actual broadcast and made it all make sense. He and Lori Lindsey made for a strong pairing as they called and analyzed a fun match between the teams that took down the two top pieces of hardware in 2023. Considering how confused some new fans may have been that the highly-anticipated first match of the season—and the broadcast package—did not count toward the regular season, Watts did a…
