DENVER — Denver7 will serve as the official broadcast partner of Denver Summit FC during the pro women’s soccer team’s inaugural season and beyond, the station announced Thursday.
Denver Summit FC is the city’s first professional women’s sports franchise and one of two National Women’s Soccer League expansion teams beginning play in 2026. As part of a multi-year agreement, Denver7, led by its sister station The Spot Denver 3 (KCDO-TV), will air all non-nationally exclusive games throughout the Denver market.
"This isn't just the launch of a new team. I want to make this clear. It's an historic moment for Denver," Brian Joyce, the president and general manager of Denver7 and The Spot Denver 3, said Thursday. "It represents a community progress, a powerful statement about us as a city and who we choose to invest in, and – having members of the Summit here today – it's a historic moment for Denver."
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WATCH THE ANNOUNCEMENT HERE:
Denver7 and The Spot Denver 3 are part of the E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP). The stations worked with the parent company's sports division, Scripps Sports, to secure the agreement.
Rob Cohen, the controlling owner of Denver Summit FC, and other team personnel were set to join Denver7 leadership in announcing the partnership at the station’s downtown studios Thursday afternoon.
"This is really about what we wanted to create with this team from really day one [...] we want to build the best professional women's soccer team in the world, and those are big words and big shoes to fill, but we believe that in Denver we can do that because of the love of sport, because of the power of this community and the power of these kinds of partnerships," Cohen said Thursday. "I can just tell you that when we announced this to the league and told them that that we had done this partnership, they were blown away. They loved the fact that it was [Denver7] and that Scripps was involved. [...] So kind of strengthening that partnership really means a lot, but, but for us, this is really about telling the stories of the women that are on this team."
Scripps Sports has an existing NWSL partnership through which ION broadcasts Saturday double-headers every week of the season, and is committed to women's professional sports through broadcast agreements with the WNBA, Major League Volleyball and more.
"No one will be confused about where to find the Summit," Scripps Sports President Brian Lawlor said Thursday. "They'll be able to find every single game on The Spot Denver 3. Hopefully we'll simulcast a couple games on Denver7, but we just can't wait to really blow this out, to bring this team to this community and make this something incredibly special."
The soccer club has been met with extraordinary demand in the 11 months since the NWSL announced it would expand to the Mile High City. More than 8,500 people have reserved season tickets ahead of the team’s first season, and more 25,000 and counting are set to attend its inaugural match at Empower Field at Mile High on March 28.
It has assembled an ownership group that includes investment firms, high-profile business executives and Colorado sports icons. The club had signed eight players to its inaugural roster.
The NWSL regular season begins on March 13, 2026. The complete local broadcast schedule will be released after the league’s national calendar is announced.
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