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. 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." 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.

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Persons: LOVB, Daniel Margulis, ESPN's, It's, LOVB's, Rosie Spaulding, Spaulding Organizations: ESPN, League, Disney, Fox Corp, Warner Bros, CNBC Locations: Austin , TX, Atlanta, Austin , Texas, Houston, Madison , Wisconsin, Omaha , Nebraska, Salt Lake City, American, Canada, Caribbean, Latin America, Saharan Africa, Australia, New Zealand