Baller League will no longer be shown on Sky Sports
Baller League will no longer be shown on Sky Sports
Tom Richardson; Peter Gillibrand - BBC Newsbeat Tue, August 18, 2026 at 12:14 PM UTC
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Baller League UK's six-a-side format has attracted millions of views online
Six-a-side football tournament Baller League will no longer show matches on Sky Sports.
The UK edition of the competition, launched in March 2025, features star managers, including England footballer Chloe Kelly and YouTubers KSI and Angry Ginge.
The league will continue to broadcast matches on Twitch, YouTube and TikTok, but BBC Newsbeat has confirmed its contract with the broadcaster has not been renewed, as first reported by the Guardian.
In a statement, Baller League chief executive Felix Starck said Sky Sports was "always framed as an add-on to our strategy, not the centre of it".
Starck pushed back against any suggestion the event had been "dropped" by Sky.
"We're not dependent on a traditional broadcaster to deliver an audience to us; we reach our audience directly," he said in a statement.
Starck further claimed that more than 90% of Baller League's audience watches online, and that viewing figures had increased by two-thirds "season-on-season".
Baller League UK's second season attracted a total of about 9.1m YouTube livestreams, while its most recent third season reached about 12m.
This represents an increase of about 32% on one platform, but does not take into account live viewing figures on TikTok or Twitch, which are not readily available.
Although Sky is the biggest UK sports broadcaster, Baller League boss Starck said "the audience we're built for isn't the audience they're reaching".
YouTuber AngryGinge is one of Baller League UK's star managers
Baller League, first launched in Germany, brings together ex-pros, creators and rising players in 30-minute games with twists on traditional football rules.
Starck previously told BBC Sport the format was more popular with 16 to 28-year-olds than the Premier League, although it's difficult to double-check the claim.
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The chief executive has also pointed to the lower cost of tickets and the ability to watch matches without a paid subscription as plus-points for the brand.
Sky Sports declined to provide a comment, but Newsbeat understands it was happy with Baller League's audience numbers and social media engagement, and that the partnership came to a natural end.
Baller League superfan Freddie Rippingale, 21, tells Newsbeat he agrees with Starck's assessment and thinks the tournament can succeed without Sky.
He watches on YouTube and says most people he knows do the same, or watch on the streaming platform Twitch.
For Rippingale, it's appointment viewing.
"Six-a-side football doesn't get enough credit for how fast-paced and good it actually is," he says.
"Some people don't give it the time to understand the rules and get to know it.
"But I love it and I won't have a bad word said about it."
While Rippingale believes the lack of a deal with Sky won't hurt Baller League, he does think it has to keep working and diversifying to win over new fans.
"A women's Baller League would be so good," he says. "I know so many semi-pro women's ballers that would thrive.
"Chloe Kelly's already one of the managers in Baller League. Get her involved."
Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.
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Source: “AOL Sports”
