Paramount Strikes Deal for Live Cheer Events

EXCLUSIVE: Paramount is jumping for joy for its latest live sports deal.

The company has acquired distribution rights to Varsity Spirit‘s Pro Cheer League, the world’s first professional competitive cheer league.

The Pro Cheer League will launch in January 2026 with four teams, based in Atlanta, Dallas, Miami and San Diego. Each team will be comprised of 30 cheerleaders, selected through a competitive selection process that will be held this fall. The season will consist of five events in Indianapolis, Houston, Atlanta, Anaheim and Nashville.

Each match consists of three rounds of competition, with rounds one and two featuring cheerleading skills including stunts, basket tosses, and tumbling in head-to-head, bracket-style rounds. The final round will be a creative routine set to music, highlighting choreography, creativity, athleticism and showmanship.

Preseason practices for each team begin in November before the season opens and the season will run through March with the Nashville-set championship.

It is a marked difference from the last sports league that Paramount struck a deal with: UFC. It is the latest sports agreement made by Paramount since it was acquired by David Ellison’s Skydance.

The deal was done by Paramount Sports Entertainment for Paramount Global Content Distribution. It will see the company’s sales arm, which traditionally sells series such as CSI, NCIS, Star Trek, the Yellowstone franchise and movies such as Top Gun and Transformers, sell the rights to broadcasters and streamers in the U.S. and globally.

Paramount Sports Entertainment and Varsity Spirit, which founded the league, are “working together on a variety of content offerings” around the Pro Cheer League.

“Competitive cheer has truly become part of the global cultural conversation. It represents athleticism, creativity, and community — qualities that bring audiences together everywhere,” said Larry Wasserman, Chief Operating Officer & Chief Financial Officer, Paramount Sports Entertainment. “Its rapidly growing global popularity reflects a shared fascination with stories of determination, teamwork, and the pursuit of excellence.”

“For so many athletes, cheer has been more than a sport — it’s been a community and a lifelong passion,” said Bill Seely, President of Varsity Spirit. “The Pro Cheer League gives these athletes a chance to keep doing what they love at the highest level, to perform in front of fans who understand the dedication it takes, and to inspire the next generation to dream even bigger.” 

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