BBC Sport insists it remains “fully committed to women’s football and the WSL” despite discontinuing its flagship BBC One highlights programme the Women’s Football Show for the new Women’s Super League season.
It is understood the BBC will focus on digital platforms to showcase highlights instead, including showing them on its newly launched YouTube women’s football channel, instead of the weekly television show with a studio, presenter and pundits, which had aired previously on BBC One at 11.30pm on Sundays, after first going live on BBC iPlayer at 9pm.
The BBC is also understood to be planning a YouTube chat show about women’s football, presented by Alex Scott, which multiple sources have said is expected to be in the “style of the Overlap”, Gary Neville’s football show. BBC Sport did not wish to comment when contacted about that plan specifically. Other England players, past and present, are expected to be part of the regular panel.
The decision to move away from the more traditional, linear television highlights show and focus on digital platforms appears to follow a similar strategy that was demonstrated this summer during the men’s World Cup, during which the BBC opted not to air a nightly highlights show for much of the tournament and instead drew in millions of viewers to its match‑by‑match highlights packages that were published online and on iPlayer.
A BBC spokesperson told the Guardian: “BBC Sport remains fully committed to women’s football and the WSL. As we build towards the 2027 Fifa Women’s World Cup, audiences will be able to watch highlights from every WSL match across BBC platforms, including iPlayer, YouTube and the BBC Sport website and app.
“In addition, BBC Sport will broadcast 25 live WSL matches, alongside live Uefa Women’s Champions League coverage, ensuring fans can follow the biggest stories and moments from the women’s game on free-to-air platforms.”
The BBC and Sky Sports are about to enter the second season of a five‑year domestic rights deal that runs until 2030, with every game shown live and the vast majority by Sky Sports.
Last year the BBC lost the broadcast rights for the Women’s FA Cup to Channel 4 and TNT Sports, which will show the competition live in the UK and Republic of Ireland until 2028. This year the BBC also stopped airing Football Focus, the long-running magazine-style show, presented by Scott, which frequently showcased women’s football. On Tuesday, however, BBC sources were adamant the broadcaster was not cutting back on its women’s football coverage nor its investment but simply evolving the way it delivers highlights in line with changing audience habits.
Yet the Guardian understands the decision to axe the women’s football show has still disappointed several BBC Sport insiders and also came as something of a surprise. Multiple sources who had worked on the Women’s Football Show last season – which was produced by the independent production company Aurora Media, and not by BBC Sport staff – have told the Guardian they first learnt the show was being cancelled when the news was reported by the Cutback ] in August.
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Nevertheless, WSL Football is understood to be comfortable with the assurances it has received from the BBC that it will be enhancing its coverage across its platforms. The new league season starts on Friday when the big-spending London City Lionesses host Manchester United.
The Women’s Football Show was co‑funded between the BBC and the league. The production of the show is understood to have been funded by WSL Football – and previously, by the Football Association, when it oversaw the division prior to 2024 – while the BBC covered the cost of the on-screen talent.
Multiple sources have told the Guardian that the BBC’s director of sport, Alex Kay-Jelski, made the strategic decision to discontinue the show, although other sources at the BBC have insisted this was not the case and that such calls are made collaboratively through consultation rather than by one person. The former editor-in-chief of the Athletic, Kay-Jelski has been in his role at BBC Sport since he succeeded Barbara Slater in April 2024.