ESPN has teamed up with the World Surf League (WSL), the global home of competitive surfing, in a new U.S. rights agreement for the 2024 Championship Tour season.
All ten WSL Championship Tour (CT) competitions and the U.S. Open of Surfing will be streamed live on ESPN+ for both men’s and women’s divisions, beginning with the Lexus Pipe Pro Presented by YETI at Banzai Pipeline from Oahu, Hawaii, scheduled from January 29 – February 10. In addition, episodes of WSL: Inside Pro Surfing, an all-access deep dive into the Championship Tour and its character-driven storylines, will appear on ESPN2 throughout the year.
“Working with ESPN this season is a fantastic opportunity to bring the sport to more viewers and new audiences across different platforms in the United States,” said Cherie Cohen, WSL Chief Revenue Officer. “They are the biggest name in sports content in the USA, and this agreement offers us the opportunity to share surfing with the millions of subscribers across their digital properties as well as on linear television.
ESPN vice president of programming and acquisitions, Tim Reed, added: “We are thrilled to showcase the 2024 WSL Championship Tour across ESPN platforms. Distributing the WSL CT live events rights on ESPN+ provides our audiences full access to the premier surf tour, where the top men and women will compete for the championship crown at legendary surf spots all over the world. The WSL CT is a great addition to the platform and live competitive surfing will fit well alongside an already significant content offering. We look forward to kicking off the season in Hawaii next week.”
More information on the World Surf League and the 2024 Championship Tour can be found at WorldSurfLeague.com.