The W-League deserves better when it comes to broadcasting than what it was served in the latest deal.

Following the announcement of the new $200 million W-League/A-League broadcast deal last week with ViacomCBS (owner of Network 10), Australian soccer fans rejoiced after the last 18 months of broadcast issues and other problems led to a decline in A-League viewership.

The saving grace has come, a new five-year broadcast deal with a commercial free-to-air channel to show two matches a week, with set broadcast standards.

One A-League match will receive a pre-game show and primetime fixture on 10 each Saturday, while one W-League match be broadcast on 10's secondary channel 10 Bold on a Sunday.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported the $200 million includes a contra embedded, which means the network would market and advertise the leagues in its programming, alongside ViacomCBS purchasing a minor equity stake in Australian Professional Leagues.

Many were quick to celebrate the investment in Australian soccer, however on closer inspection, it's not all peachy for the female code.

Being relegated from a game on the non-commercial ABC's main channel to a commercial free-to-air secondary channel is less than ideal.

When are we going to see the value in women's soccer, and sport, when right off the bat athletes are told their value is secondary?

The move came as a surprise. After a report by Roy Morgan last July showed the W-League's television viewership had increased by 43 per cent on the year prior, and was growing as other soccer competitions experienced viewership declines in Australia.

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It found a record 879,000 Australians watched the W-League on TV, with these figures likely to continue to climb after AUS and New Zealand were awarded the 2023 World Cup. However, the A-League experienced a 15 per cent decline on viewers, with 1,748,000 viewers.

Supporters of the deal have looked at it through an A-League lens and have not seemed to question what it means for the W-League. It will attract more viewers to the A-League but for the W-League, relegation to a secondary channel on a Sunday is a disadvantage from the get go and is a slap in the face to soccer in this country.

You can argue it is purely a monetary deal for the broadcaster, as the A-League attracts more viewers, but its declining viewership suggests the W-League would have been the better investment.

Roy Morgan's industry communications director Julian McCrann said it best last July.

"In this fragile investment climate women's sport is set to be a future avenue for growth. The rise in TV viewership for the W-League mirrors the trends seen in other women's sports such as AFLW - which also increased in popularity over the last year in a competitive sporting marketplace," McCrann said.

The deal was not a surprise to those working in women's sport. For all its spruiking by the league, AFLW is shown on a secondary free to air commercial channel.

Only two broadcast deals are breaking the pattern - cricket's Big Bash League and the Super Netball. Where is that for the W-League ahead of the World Cup?