Ion is continuing to grow its women’s sports portfolio, this time with one of the marquee events on the international volleyball calendar.
The Scripps-owned broadcast network will air the 2027 FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Cup in August and September of next year, the company announced on Tuesday. The World Cup serves as a qualifying event for the 2028 Summer Olympics, with the top three national teams who have not yet qualified for Los Angeles earning a spot on the sport’s biggest stage.
All 64 games in the 32-team event will be televised across Ion and Scripps Sports’ digital platforms, with both English-language and Spanish-language broadcasts available.
“This agreement represents an unprecedented level of U.S. distribution for the FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Cup and a defining moment for the sport in this market,” Craig Thompson, CEO of the FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Cup 2027 said in an announcement.
Exact financial components of the deal were not immediately available, though the announcement specified that Ion and FIVB will collaborate with Horizon Sports & Experiences to sell sponsorship packages for the event.
The Women’s Volleyball World Cup will join a growing roster of women’s sports on Ion’s calendar. The network already airs weekly packages of WNBA and NWSL games, and has recently added PWHL, the pro women’s hockey league, to the mix. Scripps Sports has also continued to expand its local footprint, recently adding the NBA’s Detroit Pistons to its cohort of local sports rights partnerships.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.