Gameday and the Women's Volleyball League Launch a New Media Model for Italian Sport

Matches from the 2026/2027 season will air on Rai, DAZN, and the social media channels of the league, clubs, and players through a new distribution model in Italy that Gameday by NJF Holdings plans to expand to other leagues and markets.

Milan, July 20, 2026 -- The Lega Pallavolo Serie A Femminile, Italy's Women's Volleyball League Serie A, has prepared the most extensive coverage ever for the new season: for the next three years, matches in Italy's top women's volleyball league, LVF A1 Fineco, will be available on Rai, DAZN, and on the social media channels of the league, the clubs and the players through a distribution model that is unprecedented in Italy. The programme is led by Spike Media, the joint venture between the Women's Volleyball League and Gameday, the sports, media and entertainment company that is part of NJF Holdings, the international investment group founded by Nicole Junkermann.

A series of agreements has been concluded by Spike Media, which manages the rights to the LVF Serie A women's volleyball leagues, for the allocation of rights for the 2026 to 2027 season. Rai remains the partner for free-to-air coverage. Under an unprecedented agreement, DAZN, the sports entertainment platform, will broadcast the entire regular season right through to the Scudetto play-offs of Italy's top league, the Coppa Italia Frecciarossa, the Italian Super Cup and the LVF A2 Fineco.

But that's not all: the LVF A1 Fineco and the LVF A2 Fineco can also be followed via the league's, the clubs' and the players' social media channels. For the first time in Italy, three matches per matchday during the regular season will be broadcast not only on the official channels of the Women's Volleyball League, but also on the social media channels of the clubs involved and those of the players.

A Changing Market for Women's Sport

The agreement reflects the rapid growth of women's sport worldwide. While Italy's Serie A1 is widely regarded as the world's top women's volleyball league, its media exposure has not matched its competitive reputation. The new distribution strategy aims to change that.

Rather than concentrating rights with a single broadcaster, the model combines free-to-air television, premium streaming and distribution through the social channels of the league, its clubs and its players. Each layer serves a different audience; together they give the league a reach no single partner could provide.

"European sport doesn't need to import its future from elsewhere; it can build it. What we've done in Italy, together with the Women's Volleyball League, is align a national broadcaster, a global streaming platform and the athletes themselves around a single distribution model. That took time, and a willingness to rethink how rights are structured. We think the same approach can work elsewhere, and Gameday is already looking at where to apply it next," said Nicole Junkermann, founder of NJF Holdings.

"As Spike Media, with the support of Gameday and the Women's Volleyball League, our aim is to bring women's volleyball to an ever-wider audience. We are aware that the way users follow sport is changing, and it is becoming increasingly necessary to meet the new needs not only of fans but also of those who are simply curious. By involving traditional broadcasters, OTT platforms, as well as the league, clubs and players via their social media channels, we will offer the most accessible volleyball league ever. For the first time in Italy, it won't just be the fans looking for a match to watch; the match itself will find the fans," commented Simone Tomassetti, General Media at Spike Media.

From Italian Blueprint to International Playbook

For NJF Holdings and Nicole Junkermann, the Italian partnership is the first full expression of Gameday's league transformation model. Gameday doesn't act as an external agency selling rights on a league's behalf. It works inside the league: Spike Media is a joint venture in which the Women's Volleyball League and Gameday manage the rights package, the distribution strategy and the audience data together. The rights agreements announced today are the visible result; the structural change beneath them is the point.

Gameday is now in discussions with leagues and federations in other countries about applying the same structure, with a focus on strong competitions whose commercial arrangements haven't kept pace with them. The Italian model was built to close that gap, and it is designed to travel.

About NJF Holdings

NJF Holdings is a global investment group founded by Nicole Junkermann. It operates across two principal activities: NJF Capital, a venture portfolio of more than 40 companies focused on early-stage investment in artificial intelligence, deep tech and life sciences; and Gameday by NJF Holdings, a sports investment and platform business focused on building long-term commercial and digital infrastructure across professional leagues and media.

Notable NJF Capital investments include SpaceX, Revolut, Rippling, and Groq, acquired by Nvidia.

For more information, visit NJFHoldings.com.

About Spike Media

Spike Media is a joint venture between the Lega Pallavolo Serie A Femminile and Gameday by NJF Holdings, an investment company founded by Nicole Junkermann. Through a data-driven strategy and a digital-first approach, Spike Media manages the Women's Volleyball League's entire rights package with the aim of increasing the movement's visibility and strengthening the entire ecosystem of Italian women's volleyball, including clubs and athletes, whilst actively promoting the development and growth of elite women's sport.

About the Lega Pallavolo Serie A Femminile

The Lega Pallavolo Serie A Femminile, the Women's Serie A Volleyball League, founded in 1987, is the consortium that brings together the sports clubs participating in the top Italian leagues, Serie A1 and Serie A2. Universally recognised as the pinnacle of excellence in the international volleyball scene, the league organises and promotes the main national competitions, including the Championships, the Coppa Italia and the Italian Super Cup. Its mission is to coordinate, safeguard and enhance the activities of its member clubs, promoting the growth of the entire women's volleyball movement. Thanks to its exceptionally high technical, competitive and organisational standards, the Italian league has for years attracted the finest talents from around the world, establishing itself as the most coveted, spectacular and widely followed stage for women's sport globally.

About Gameday

Part of the NJF group, Gameday develops projects and platforms in the sport, media and entertainment sectors with a focus on digital innovation and the monetisation of sports rights. Through integrated strategies combining content, distribution and data-driven technologies, the company acts as a strategic partner in creating new business models and expanding audiences, helping strengthen the positioning of sports brands in global markets.

More information is available at NJF Holdings, NJF Capital, Gameday by NJF Holdings, and Nicole Junkermann. Additional updates are available through Instagram and TikTok. Media inquiries may also be directed via email at [email protected].

Contact Info:
Name: Michael Oakes
Email: Send Email
Organization: NJF Holdings
Website: https://njfholdings.com

Release ID: 89198336

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