Last week, Kristie, Steph, and I were invited to go down to New York City to attend the announcement about the new TV deal between the NWSL and A&E Networks. We were so honored to attend and find out that NWSL games will be played on Lifetime during this upcoming season. A&E has invested in the league and come onboard for the next 3 years, making for some exciting soccer news!

There will be a Game of the Week each Saturday at 4pm on Lifetime. The rest of the games will still be streamed, hopefully through a new media program that A&E is helping the NWSL to start, called NWSL Media.

One of my favorite parts of the whole day was listening to the CEO of A&E, Nancy Dubuc, talk about why Lifetime viewers will love watching women’s soccer, if they aren’t already fans. She said that sports display such authenticity, which is something that Lifetime viewers know well and love a lot. The emotion that goes along with soccer (TBT to the NWSL final for me) is something that will resonate with women across the country who love Lifetime. I love that she was able to make such a meaningful connection between the NWSL and Lifetime. It really put the whole deal into perspective for me. I think that our avenue to higher audience numbers is through displaying our own passion for the game and allowing others to see and connect with that.

The event itself was awesome. It was super professional and all of the NWSL players in attendance were treated like all-stars. Kristie, Steph, and I took the train down from Boston and went to a great dinner where I had some of the best mussels I’ve ever had. (But Cafeteria in Boston still can’t be topped.) We got to hang out with our buds Rose Lavelle, Alyssa Naeher, and Lynn Williams, and we even ran into the legendary Christie Rampone at the event. It was a great day of promoting the NWSL and we are so excited to see what the future holds for our league!