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Women’s volleyball expands its broadcast reach across Rai, DAZN and live social media streams

From 2026–2027, the League’s most extensive broadcast plan will be launched: matches will also be shown on the clubs’ and players’ social media profiles. Rights management will pass from Volleyball World to Spike Media

by Gianluca Brazzioli

13 July 2026

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La brasiliana Gabriela Braga Guimaraes attacca contro l'italiana Stella Nervini (16), Sarah Luisa Fahr (19) ed Ekaterina Antropova (24) durante la semifinale del Campionato mondiale di pallavolo femminile FIVB 2025 tra Italia e Brasile all’Huamark Indoor Stadium di Bangkok, in Thailandia, sabato 6 settembre 2025. (Foto AP/Sakchai Lalit/APS)

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

From television to the athletes’ profiles
A different, larger audience
From Volleyball World and CVC to Spike Media

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

At the height of Italian women’s volleyball’s glory days, coverage is becoming increasingly widespread, and the Women’s Volleyball League will have its most extensive broadcast schedule ever. This will include traditional television, pay-per-view streaming and direct distribution via digital platforms. Matches will therefore be available on Rai (free-to-air), on the DAZN platform and on the social media channels of the League, the participating clubs and the players.

The new structure will come into effect from the 2026–2027 season. The agreements were finalised by Spike Media, the company that manages the rights to the women’s Serie A leagues, established as a joint venture between the Women’s Volleyball League and Gameday to manage and promote the media rights of Italian women’s volleyball. Gameday develops projects and platforms in the sports, media and entertainment sectors and is part of NJF Holdings, an investment company founded by Nicole Junkermann.

From television to the athletes’ profiles

Rai remains the partner for free-to-air coverage. DAZN will broadcast the entire Fineco Serie A1 regular season through to the league play-offs, the Frecciarossa Coppa Italia, the Italian Super Cup and a selection of Fineco Serie A2 matches.

For the first time in Italia, three matches from each matchday of the regular season will be broadcast on the League’s official social media channels and on the profiles of the clubs involved and the players.

The model aims to bring together different audiences: “By involving traditional broadcasters, OTTs (internet streaming services, ed.), as well as the League, clubs and players via their social media channels, we will offer the most accessible volleyball league ever, bringing it to where the audience is,” explains Simone Tomassetti of Spike Media.

A different, larger audience

The initiative aims to bridge the gap between the match and the spectators, moving beyond the traditional fan base to attract a new audience at a time when the movement is generating great enthusiasm. The national team, led by Julio Velasco, is both Olympic champions (Paris 2024) and world champions (Thailand 2025), whilst the 2025–26 season of the Women’s Volleyball League concluded with a total of 13 million television viewers and nearly 600,000 spectators at the venues.

“We are aware that the way in which users follow sport is changing, and it is becoming increasingly important to meet the new needs not only of fans but also of those who are simply curious – who are, after all, the enthusiasts of the future,” adds Tomassetti.

According to Mauro Fabris, president of the Women’s Serie A Volleyball League, the new plan offers the league “an unprecedented media showcase”. The aim, he says, is “to reach both long-standing fans and, above all, to attract and engage the younger generations”.

From Volleyball World and CVC to Spike Media

The new structure also marks a change in the management of rights. In 2021, the Women’s Volleyball League had signed a five-year agreement with Volleyball World, the commercial company formed through a partnership between the International Volleyball Federation and the private equity firm CVC Capital Partners. The agreement entrusted Volleyball World with the management of the national and international media rights for the Women’s Serie A, whilst all matches were broadcast on its VBTV streaming platform.

From the 2026–2027 season, this role will be taken over by Spike Media, which is already responsible for marketing, sponsorship and events. The path chosen by the women’s league thus diverges from that of the men’s league, which in August 2025 renewed its partnership with Volleyball World under a ten-year agreement, valid until the 2034–2035 season.