As a debut for a streaming service, Paramount Plus is not off to a promising start. Its library at this point is basically what is offered on CBS All Access. (That's not surprising, since Paramount Plus is basically a paint job on CBS All Access and a Super Bowl ad buy.)

Eye-catching original programming is a long way off. Even the Oprah Winfrey interview with Harry and Meghan that everyone has been talking about all week, which aired everywhere, including free on CBS.com, is no longer on Paramount Plus.

Putting all this together, there is not much of an argument for subscribing to Paramount Plus. So why would I hit the subscribe button?

It can be summed up in four words: NWSL.

NWSL, of course, is the Nation Women's Soccer League, which is about to begin its ninth season (making it the longest running professional women's soccer league in the country). The league has won the last two World Cups. Almost all of the U.S. women's national teams that have won the past two World Cups have played in this league, so the quality of the game is high. Last year, the league set a record for viewership, despite the scheduling chaos caused by COVID-19.

The NWSL has released this year's schedule, both for the regular season and the 21-game Challenge Cup tournament that precedes it, and aside from a handful of games broadcast on the CBS Sports Network, if you want to watch any of the Challenge Cup, including the May 8 final you'll need Paramount Plus.

NWSL soccer may be the centerpiece of Paramount Plus, but it's not the only live sport available on the $5.99/month streaming service. Manchester City and Bayern Munich may be a step below the Portland Thorns and Chicago Red Stars in my book, but I'm willing to sacrifice that. Paramount Plus also streams other live sports such as NCAA basketball, NFL live streams, and golf.

And this shows how streaming services (even mediocre ones) can stand out in an era where every media entity seems to be accumulating a content library and planning to charge $5 per month to watch it. The ability to watch live sports is still a differentiator. Aside from instant access to Turner Classic Movies, the challenge of watching live sports on TV is one of the few things I miss after cutting the cable cord myself two years ago.

Some streaming services understand that better than others. The $19/month Disney bundle includes ESPN Plus along with Disney Plus and Hulu if you need a fix of soccer, college sports, and ESPN original programming. (If you are not the least bit interested in Disney Plus or Hulu, ESPN Plus is available on its own for $5.99/month.) Amazon Prime also offers live sports, primarily NFL games.

Even services that do not offer sports see the value of live sports to draw in potential subscribers; HBO Max does not offer much in the way of live sports other than what is already available on HBO's cable channels, but executives are hopeful that in the future (not this year but executives have hinted that could change in the future (but not this year).

Last year, rumors circulated that Apple was negotiating with the Pac-12 Conference to bring sports programming to its Apple TV Plus streaming service. (Or, if you know the state of Pac-12 football these days, sports-like programming.)

This strategy is quite ingenious. If the current streaming services don't grab you, live sports might (Peacock's made a similar play by adding live WWE wrestling events). And if you spend enough time watching streaming services, you might grow to like them. Paramount Plus is certainly betting that my interest in watching the Portland Thorns games will keep me around after the NWSL season ends this fall and I discover what's in its library.

Of course, live sports coverage isn't for everyone. And not wanting to pay the skyrocketing cable fees that fund sports broadcasting rights in part is why some people have abandoned cable in the first place. And then there are sports fans who stick with cable TV after realizing that paying a lump sum to Comcast, Spectrum, etc. each month, rather than paying multiple small payments to Viacom, Apple, Netflix, etc., is not substantially better value than cable TV.

But for now, adding Paramount Plus for NWSL coverage works for me; it will be up to the streaming service to convince me that there is non-soccer content to justify the $5.99 monthly fee.