Why The NWSL *Shouldn't* Change their Schedule to July-May

If the NWSL were to start in July, coverage of the second month of their season would be drowned out by NFL preseason coverage. ESPN already goes wall-to-wall and over the ceiling with NFL preseason coverage in August to the point where NWSL career milestones are pushed out of the ESPN top headlines by preseason analysis- and that's, as things already stand, the start of the second half of the season. I don't even want to imagine how second-month-of-the-season coverage would look like if the second month of the NWSL season and NFL preseason are the same month- Seattle Reign goalkeeper Evan O'Steen could make her first pro start or Chicago could win their first five games with five shutouts and the top headlines on the ESPN website would be debating the Buccaneers' QB battle or the Steelers' TE competition. 

If the NWSL keeps their March-October schedule and MLS goes to July-May, the NWSL wouldn't have competition for viewers March through April. As things stand right now, both MLS and NWSL have Saturday games. If MLS moves to a July start and the NWSL starts in March like usual, the NWSL will have their pick of the mill for streaming services in addition to NWSL+/ABC/CBS/CBSSN/ESPN Networks, including Fox and Apple TV, from March through May, which could bring in even more viewers.