Today is a big day if you work for the United Soccer Leagues or are a fan of a club in either their Championship League or League One. They earned, within a couple of months, big deals from two broadcasters to showcase their leagues on television. After a couple of months of signing with CBS Sports, ESPN renewed its partnership with the USL, and now the broadcast schedule for nationally televised games has been announced.
First of all, both Mike Watts and Devon Kerr back as the number one broadcast team to call the matches on both CBS Sports and ESPN has been a fantastic move. Watts began as the broadcaster in 2015, while Kerr started analyzing in 2018. But these two have been working so well together that splitting them up would be a crime. They have also worked several CONCACAF events, from the Gold Cup to the Nations League and US Open Cup matches streamed to many devices.
Eighteen games on CBS Sports Network, two on CBS National, and ESPN gets the rest with about seven. The USL League One Final is on CBS Sports Network, while the USL Championship Final will be on CBS Sports National. I believe ESPN will still be streaming the rest of the games on their platform, ESPN+. It's exciting news for the USL and what they are trying to accomplish, having these two joining forces to provide coverage for the clubs below MLS.
“As we enter a new era for the USL with the 2026 World Cup approaching, our focus is to provide fans with more ways to watch than ever before and be the most widely available soccer league in our country,” said Chief Commercial Officer Court Jeske. “We have enjoyed a longstanding relationship with ESPN during which the USL has grown significantly, and we are incredibly excited to continue this relationship.”
Additionally, ESPN will be the home for the USL League One's In-Season Cup competition that will start this year along with their regular seasons. It makes me feel good about where the respect level of the game is here in the United States. To see multiple broadcasters showing their commitment to helping the popularity of the sport here and showing respect. While MLS has gone toward a digital provider and somehow was still able to keep Fox Sports as their linear broadcaster, it's still a positive for the sport to have these deals done.
But make no mistake, USL is the big winner here. They have aligned themselves with a friend in ESPN, a new happy partner with CBS Sports, and while both companies do streaming for some of their games, they are still sticking with their Linear technology and not force-feeding the streaming down our throats. So far, they have won this round, but MLS is stuck with another nine years with Apple while they are in their second season with the computer giant. It is a happy day for the USL and for their fans and clubs for the next several years.
The "walled garden" of AppleTV is only one "messy" injury away from an even bigger debacle.... Kudos to USL indeed for having two big streaming partners!