League strengthens its infrastructure and commercial capabilities as it prepares for expansion, enhanced media distribution, and long-term growth.
Major League Volleyball (MLV) has announced a series of strategic milestones that underscore the league's evolution into a high-growth national sports property. Building on the momentum of its third landmark season and expansion to 12 teams in 2027, MLV is engaging premier advisors Karen Brodkin and Hillary Mandel, and Echelon to strengthen its media rights and commercial strategy.
The announcements come amid rising fan engagement, viewership, and corporate partnership interest across professional women's sports in the United States.
Premium Advisory Partners to Scale Commercial Footprint
To capitalize on the commercial momentum generated by its recently concluded third season, MLV has retained elite industry partners to maximize its revenue and distribution strategy.
Media Rights Strategy: MLV has partnered with Karen Brodkin, COO of WME Basketball (formerly Co-Head of WME SPORTS) and Hillary Mandel, EVP, IMG to shape and execute the league's next-generation media distribution framework. Brodkin and Mandel bring extensive experience advising professional sports leagues, including the NWSL, WNBA and WTA, and collegiate properties such as the Big 12 Conference and NCAA, on media rights architecture and distribution strategy.
Corporate Partnerships: MLV retained Echelon to lead its national commercial strategy. The engagement is headed by Doug Smoyer, a veteran sports executive with experience across NFL clubs, the NFL league office, and major sports properties, including FIFA and NCAA athletics. Echelon's sports advisory practice is chaired by Tony Ponturo, one of the industry's most respected sports marketers and partnership executives.
Introducing MLV's National Partnership Platform
With the formal engagement of Brodkin and Mandel, and Echelon, MLV is strengthening its platform for national and global brand partners. Through a coordinated commercial framework, brands can activate across league, team, and athlete assets spanning the entire MLV ecosystem.
The initiative expands MLV's reach beyond traditional volleyball-endemic categories, opening premium partnership opportunities for Fortune 500 companies seeking to connect with one of the most engaged sports audiences.
“Major League Volleyball represents one of the most compelling untapped opportunities in sports today," said Doug Smoyer, Partner and Co-Head at Echelon. "Volleyball has tremendous scale, passionate fans, and deep connections with families and young athletes. Our focus is building a commercial platform that creates value for brand partners while helping accelerate the growth of MLV, its teams, and its athletes.”
“We've reached an inflection point," said Jaime Weston, Commissioner of Major League Volleyball. "As interest in the league continues to grow, we are putting the infrastructure in place to capitalize on that momentum. From strategic partnerships with Karen and Hillary, and Echelon, we are building a league positioned for expansion, investment, and long-term success. Volleyball's growth in the U.S. continues to accelerate, and MLV intends to be at the center of it."
Momentum by the Numbers
MLV's newly concluded 2026 season delivered record-breaking operational metrics:
3 Million Viewers: MLV's first-ever postseason broadcasts on ION and Scripps Sports Network reached nearly three million unique viewers across three matches.
Broadcast Reach: The 2026 AdventHealth MLV All-Star Match on CBS averaged 562,000 national viewers, anchoring a season that delivered 52 national broadcasts across CBS Sports, Roku, VICE, ION Television, Samsung TV Plus, and Scripps Sports Network.
1 Million Fans: The league officially surpassed one million cumulative fans in attendance, averaging nearly 4,000 fans per match across more than 260 total matches since its inception.
Entering its fourth season in 2027 as the longest-running professional indoor volleyball league in U.S. history, MLV has expanded to 12 teams and continues to target high-potential markets backed by ownership groups with ties to the NBA, NHL, MLS, and other major professional sports leagues, supported by established sports infrastructure.
Additional announcements regarding specific franchise markets, expanded media rights agreements, and founding national partnerships will be released in the coming months.
About WME Basketball
Karen Brodkin, COO, WME Basketball, where in addition to overseeing the business of the agency, she represents and in certain circumstances co-represents (with IMG) clients including the NCAA, B12, NWSL, WNBA, Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, Charlotte Hornets, and others.
About IMG
IMG is a leading global sports marketing agency, specializing in media rights management and sales, multi-channel content production and distribution, brand partnerships, strategic consulting, digital services, and event management. It powers growth of revenues, fanbases and IP for more than 250 federations, associations, events, and teams, including the National Football League, English Premier League, International Olympic Committee, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, ATP and WTA Tours, the AELTC (Wimbledon), Euroleague Basketball, CONMEBOL, World Rugby, DP World Tour, and The R&A, as well as UFC, WWE, and PBR. IMG is a subsidiary of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO), a premium sports and entertainment company.
About Echelon
Echelon is a full-service sports marketing agency specializing in commercial strategy, sponsorship consulting, partnership development, and corporate hospitality. The agency works with brands, properties, and rightsholders to maximize the value of sports and entertainment investments through strategic planning, revenue generation, experiential marketing, and data-driven measurement and analytics solutions.