The Disney-owned international sports broadcaster ESPN has expanded its pan-American broadcast partnership with the World Surf League (WSL) competition.
In its new form the partnership, covering the 2025 WSL Championship Tour, will see the series aired on the ESPN+ OTT service in the US.
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This will include all 12 Championship Tour events, 11 regular-season events, and the one-day WSL Finals, as well as the US Open of Surfing which is on the WSL’s Challenger series as a qualifier for the Champions Tour.
Across Latin America and the Caribbean meanwhile, events will be shown on the Disney+ streaming service.
This will conclude locations such as Argentina, Mexico, and Peru, but the deal excludes territories Brazil, Costa Rica, and El Salvador.
Furthermore the tour’s highlight show, WSL Inside Pro Surfing, will continue to air on the ESPN 2 secondary linear channel, as well as being hosted on demand on ESPN+ and Disney+.
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By GlobalDataWSL first tied up with Disney ahead of the 2024 WSL season, when the WSL 2024 Champions Tour landed on ESPN.
Speaking on the expanded deal, WSL chief revenue officer Cherie Cohen stated: “2025 will be an amazing opportunity to showcase surfing across The Walt Disney Company’s direct-to-consumer and linear platforms.
“Following a historic year for surfing, we’re thrilled to continue the momentum into the 2025 CT season by expanding access to more viewers in more ways through our work with ESPN.”
The 2025 WSL Championship Tour begins on January 27 in O’ahu Hawaii with the Lexus Pipe Pro, which is sponsored by presenting partner Yeti, as well as title partner Lexus, a prominent partner of the series.
This is the second major broadcast renewal for WSL this week, as on January 20 it also renewed its long-running partnership with Australia’s Foxtel, allowing viewers in the country to continue to have access to live WSL events on television and on-demand, via Foxtel, Kayo Sports, and for the first time, on streaming service Binge.
That deal is even more expansive than the ESPN partnership in the US, covering events like the Championship Tour, Challenger Series, and the Bells Beach Longboard Classic. Additionally, select events will be available on free-to-air TV and streaming service Kayo Freebies.
Last month, it was announced that international sports-focused OTT streaming service DAZN has agreed to purchase Foxtel from its owners, News Corp and Telstra, expected to close by the second half of the 2025 financial year.
The purchase, which represents a franchise value of A$3.4 billion ($2.2 billion) for Foxtel, includes the repayment of A$706 million in shareholder loans (A$578 million from News Corp, A$128 million from Telstra) as well as News Corp gaining a 6% minority equity shareholding in DAZN, and Telstra gaining 3%.
