Fox Sports has been a leader in bringing women’s college volleyball to linear television, leveraging its majority ownership of the Big Ten Network to access the best women’s college volleyball content in the country. With the new season approaching next fall, the network is poised to capitalize on the growing fan base surrounding the sport.
One effective strategy utilized by Fox in recent years is pairing NFL games with high-profile women’s college volleyball matchups. For instance, last year, a Wisconsin-Minnesota volleyball match aired right after an NFL game featuring the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings, while a Michigan-Ohio State game led into another NFL matchup. This strategy attracted a combined total of 1.7 million viewers for these women’s college volleyball matches. In an interview with Front Office Sports, Fox Sports VP Derek Crocker highlighted the effectiveness of this approach, stating, “We’ve seen with other properties the strength of the NFL lead-in can really expose new viewers to growing sports like women’s volleyball. Seeing those numbers and how well it did really showcased the potential of what women’s volleyball could be. We were really encouraged by it.”
Last season, Fox aired a total of 86 women’s college volleyball matches across its linear channels, and for the first time this month, the Big Ten Network will broadcast spring volleyball matches. This underscores a clear commitment to the sport. Supporting this trend, in December, ABC achieved the second-most-watched women’s college volleyball championship ever, drawing 1.3 million viewers, illustrating the broader ascendance of women’s sports such as softball and gymnastics in recent years. If networks like Fox continue to promote these sports alongside substantial audiences, especially before or after NFL games, the growth trajectory is likely to extend.
