• ESPN and League One Volleyball have reached a multi-year media rights deal ahead of the league’s inaugural Pro season.
• ESPN will air 10 LOVB Pro matches across its linear networks and 18 matches on ESPN+ as part of the first season, which begins in January.
• LOVB's 2025 pro season will feature six teams based in Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Houston; Madison, Wisconsin; Omaha, Nebraska; and Salt Lake City.

ESPN and League One Volleyball have reached a multi-year media rights deal, starting with the league's inaugural professional volleyball season, LOVB announced Thursday.

ESPN will air 10 LOVB Pro matches across its linear networks and 18 matches on ESPN+ as part of the first season, which begins in January. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"As our coverage of collegiate volleyball continues to evolve, LOVB provides a great professional complement for those athletes and others to continue their careers and our coverage of both them and the sport," said Daniel Margulis, ESPN's senior director of programming and acquisitions, in a release announcing the deal. "We feel their growth model is an excellent one and are excited to partner with this great organization."

Disney is set to launch a new ESPN streaming service in the fall of next year. It's also partnered with Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery to launch a joint venture sports streaming service, expected this fall.

In the leadup to LOVB's 2025 pro season — which lasts until the middle of April and will feature six teams based in Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Houston; Madison, Wisconsin; Omaha, Nebraska; and Salt Lake City — ESPN will highlight the league's athletes during the network's coverage of the fall NCAA season. Meanwhile, LOVB's inaugural pre-season is set to kick off in November 2024.

"LOVB has set out on an ambitious path to develop volleyball into the next major American sports league, and we could not think of a better media company to have in this journey than ESPN," said Rosie Spaulding, LOVB Pro's chief operating officer, in a release.

LOVB operates 47 youth volleyball clubs in 22 states across the U.S. with more than 1,200 youth teams. Spaulding told CNBC in an interview the introduction of a professional league makes the business a "true youth-to-pro ecosystem."

"We believe we found the right partner in ESPN to provide the much needed visibility and awareness and attention on this professional league when we launch it," she said. "So, [we're] really thrilled honestly to have this partnership going into our inaugural season and for what that means to the professional athletes but also our youth club athletes that are coming up behind them."

LOVB Pro matches will also be available on ESPN platforms in select countries and territories such as Canada, the Caribbean, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Australia and New Zealand.