Scripps Bets on Pro Cheer and NWSL for Broadcast Future

Scripps is doubling down on its sports strategy, securing multi-year rights for the new Pro Cheer League and the NWSL's latest expansion team, Denver Summit FC. The deals are designed to build out its portfolio of women's and emerging sports, positioning its broadcast network ION as a national alternative to the struggling regional sports network model.

• A league of their own: The first deal is a ground-floor bet on creating a new sports property. Partnering with cheerleading giant Varsity Spirit, Scripps will launch the Pro Cheer League, giving paid professional athletes a national stage for the first time. ION will exclusively air the five-event inaugural season in early 2026, featuring four teams competing in a mix of choreographed routines and skills challenges.

• Doubling down on soccer: The second agreement deepens Scripps’s existing ties to the NWSL. The local rights deal for Denver Summit FC builds on the network's existing national NWSL partnership, which features Saturday double-headers on ION. When the team launches in 2026, Scripps will air all non-national matches on its local Denver stations.

• The RSN alternative: Both deals feed Scripps's growing portfolio of women's and emerging sports rights, which also includes the WNBA and Major League Volleyball. By packaging national reach on ION with its local station footprint, Scripps is positioning itself as a go-to broadcast partner for leagues looking for broad-reach alternatives to the crumbling RSN model.

Scripps is making a calculated play, using the reach of free over-the-air television to build a sports media business around properties that have been historically underserved by traditional cable. The competition for eyeballs on free platforms is heating up as legacy media brands get repackaged for the streaming era, with V10 Entertainment recently launching a free channel for "America's Funniest Home Videos." At the same time, major players like DIRECTV are bolstering their own free offerings, adding new channels to their lineups to keep viewers engaged.