Athletes Unlimited announced today that CBS Sports Network, FOX Sports, Facebook and YouTube will be the main broadcast and streaming partners for the 30-game inaugural lacrosse season.
Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse will feature 56 of the world’s best lacrosse players at Maureen Hendricks Field in Boyds, Maryland, from July 23 to August 22.
As the lead television partner, CBS Sports Network will air seven games, including each week’s matchup of the top two teams by draft order, as well as the final game of the season on Championship Sunday, August 22.
FOX Sports will broadcast 15 games (11 games on FS1 and four games on FS2), while eight games will live stream on Athletes Unlimited’s Facebook and YouTube channels. All games will be played on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and the competition schedule can be found at www.auprosports.com/lacrosse/schedule.
"We have put together a distribution plan that will provide the widest ever visibility for pro women’s lacrosse," Athletes Unlimited CEO and co-founder Jon Patricof told Insider. "It combines cable television exposure as well as digital distribution and importantly won’t require any additional subscription fees."
To offer the best possible production for fans around the world during its inaugural season, Athletes Unlimited has assembled a Media Advisory Board composed of industry leaders, many of whom are former players, that will offer strategic guidance and best practices. Members include Sarah Crennan, Head of Content for Yahoo Sports; Hilary Awad, Head of Brand Development, SC30 Inc.; Libby Bush, Chief Operating Officer, Tandem Entertainment; Taylor Cummings, Founder of Taylor Cummings Lacrosse and Athletes Unlimited player; Ezra Kucharz, Chief Business Officer, DraftKings; Emily Leitner, Emmy-award winning Feature Producer for NFL Films; Dan Levy, Senior Vice President, Olympics and Women’s Sports, Wasserman; Nick Miaritis, Executive Vice President, VaynerMedia and Nyerr Parham, General Manager, SB Nation.
In addition, Athletes Unlimited announced that it will host its first College Draft featuring the announcement of 13 graduating college seniors who will be invited to join the league for its inaugural season. Draftees will be unveiled as part of a video presentation that will debut on Facebook and YouTube on Tuesday, June 8, at noon Eastern.
Each player will be introduced by members of the Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse Player Executive Committee, lacrosse legends or celebrity guests including former National Team member, three-time National Champion and two-time Tewaraaton Award winner from Northwestern, Kristen Kjellman Marshall, four-time National Champion, two-time Tewaraaton award winner and member of the Australian National Team from Northwestern, Hannah Nielsen, and former National Team member and two-time gold medalist from Ohio State University, Regina Thomas.