Turner Sports and US Soccer Deal Brings National Team Games to HBO Max in 2023

Live soccer is officially coming to HBO Max. Turner Sports and the U.S. Soccer Federation reached an eight-year multimedia rights agreement that makes HBO Max and cable networks TNT and TBS the exclusive English-language home for more than 20 Women’s and Men’s National Team matches each year. The deal is set to begin in 2023, and further expands HBO Max’s foray into live sports after Turner Sports struck a deal for the NHL’s second TV rights package last year. HBO Max will play a major role in the new agreement and is set to air more than 20 National Team games each year. TNT and TBS plan to televise approximately half of those matches (all simulcast on HBO Max), with the remaining matches exclusive to the streamer. This Director Turned a Street Soccer Tournament Into a Creative Launchpad for Diverse Talent These games now primarily air on ESPN and Fox Sports. “This is a significant milestone for Turner Sports and WarnerMedia, further demonstrating our commitment to the distribution of premium live sports content on HBO Max, while simultaneously fueling our leading entertainment networks, digital and social assets,” said Lenny Daniels, president, Turner Sports, in a statement. “We’re excited to spotlight one of the most popular Women’s teams in the world, along with an ascending Men’s National Team, over the eight years of this agreement. This partnership offers us an opportunity to engage with their avid, young and diverse fan bases through all of our Turner Sports and Bleacher Report platforms.” The package includes World Cup qualifiers, National Team friendlies (including highly popular USMNT matches against Mexico), send-off matches and special events leading up to and following the World Cup and Olympic Games. The agreement also features the annual SheBelieves Cup, which wrapped last week with the U.S. shutting out Iceland 5-0. More good soccer news The deal was announced following a wave of media coverage surrounding the USWNT, which just settled a years-long equal pay lawsuit in a $24 million settlement that ended with U.S. Soccer resolving to pay men and women at an equal rate in all future friendlies and tournaments, including the World Cup. “We are thrilled to be partnering with Turner Sports at this amazing time for soccer in the United States," said U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone in a statement. “During our discussions it was clear how dedicated they are to growing soccer in the United States, especially their commitment to expand the women’s game. As we build towards 2026 and beyond, we have found a fantastic partner to spotlight the stories of our Women's and Men's National Teams." Turner Sports and Bleacher Report also landed exclusive rights to live event coverage, including any interactive companion broadcasting, new matches or tournaments and behind-the-scenes content. Turner Sports will also have TV Everywhere rights that will allow its networks to make the matches and related programming available to authenticated subscribers across all WarnerMedia platforms. The agreement also contains ecommerce rights as well as the possibility of integrating sports betting experiences. Soccer—one of the most rapidly growing sports in the U.S.—fills a major gap in an otherwise robust Turner Sports portfolio. The company’s sports roster also includes the NBA, MLB, the NHL and March Madness, but this will be its first major push into sports streaming. Streamers love soccer HBO Max’s pursuit of soccer rights follows a larger trend when it comes to streaming soccer. Paramount, formerly ViacomCBS, wants to have live soccer pretty much 24/7. Its streaming service Paramount+ currently has the rights to larger leagues like UEFA Champions League and Europa League, the National Women’s Soccer League and Serie A, but also leagues such as Argentine Primera División and Brasileirão. NBCUniversal made a major play with the Premier League, and believes it could prove to be as popular as the NFL. While NBCUniversal beat out ESPN and Paramount for Premier League rights, ESPN still has a robust soccer portfolio of its own, particularly with leagues like Bundesliga and the FA Cup. For HBO Max, adding Men’s and Women’s National Team games will likely drive further subscriptions, particularly with the popularity and success of women's soccer and growing interest in the USMNT. The 2019 FIFA World Cup championship match-up between the USWNT and the Netherlands was the most-watched women’s match ever, generating an average live audience of 82.18 million, up by 56% over the previous final in 2015. (In the U.S. alone, the final on Fox peaked at 20 million viewers, outperforming the men’s 2018 World Cup by 22%.) Why Streaming Services Are Bingeing on Sports Rights Deals