When Swerve TV launched its sports streaming service exclusively for women’s sports, the Pacific Palisades-based firm entered a relatively empty niche in sports television.
In early January, the company raised $2.5 million in series A funding to keep it going.
Swerve TV kicked off its women’s sports channel in 2025, following the 2021 launch of Swerve Combat – a platform dedicated to combat sports. Swerve Sports streams everything from films and television series about women athletes and the history of women in athletics, as well as game highlights from the WNBA, on its free-to-watch, ad-supported channel.
Swerve Sports debuted on the heels of a banner year in women’s sports. In 2024, the WNBA signed an 11-year media rights deal with streaming giants Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and NBC, valued at $200 million. That year was also the most-watched regular season of the WNBA in 24 years, according to the organization’s state-of-the-industry address.
In a 2025 survey from the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 30% of respondents said they watch women’s sports in some capacity.
Delving into a growing corner of sports content turned out to be a good move for Swerve TV. Swerve’s partners were able to dust off archives of women’s sports content that was abandoned in favor of other priorities. Swerve can work closely with new, up-and-coming leagues in women’s sports, such as Athletes Unlimited, a professional sports league network that includes volleyball, basketball, and softball.
Swerve signed a deal with the Freestyle Trampoline Association to stream the women’s finals.
Swerve TV’s backers include several media executives, who have worked on streaming solutions. Steve Shannon, Swerve’s chief executive, was the head of content and monetization at Roku Inc. Christy Tanner, Swerve Sports’ chair, was a former CBS News executive. The series A funding round was led by Scott Galloway, a New York University marketing professor and podcaster.
