When the WNBA’s preseason slate started Friday night time, the platform used to current the pair of video games captured a stark distinction from the streaming debacles that outlined 2024.
This time, an X consumer didn’t want to start out a livestream that generated 2 million views as a result of solely a number of the preseason video games — and never all of them — had been obtainable by the WNBA’s League Move, which occurred for a Sky-Lynx matchup and prompted Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve to say that everybody who watched ought to give the consumer streaming the sport $3.
This time, an official YouTube stream didn’t run into copyright points and shut down, which occurred for a Could preseason contest in opposition to the Liberty final yr.
As an alternative, the Wings’ sport in opposition to the Aces and the Sky’s sport in opposition to the Brazil nationwide crew marked the primary two nationally televised preseason video games in league historical past — beginning a preseason that’ll characteristic 4 of them on both ION, NBA TV or ESPN.
“I know I’ll be watching,” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello mentioned Friday of the preseason video games. “I’m interested, too. … We gotta keep building on the momentum we’ve built over these last few years but in particular last year, and it’s gonna keep getting better and better if we do the things right.”
Fourteen of the 15 video games might be seen without cost by way of WNBA League Move within the league’s app, with the lone exception a sport Sunday between the Fever and the Brazil nationwide crew.
It’ll be hosted on the Iowa campus the place Indiana’s Caitlin Clark as soon as starred — a part of the league’s effort to highlight its present stars at their school venues — and broadcast solely on ESPN.
The Fever’s sport in opposition to the Mystics on Saturday will mark the opposite nationally televised sport.
Making all of its preseason video games obtainable by way of streams or broadcasts for the primary time will permit the WNBA to proceed capitalizing on exponential scores development from 2024, because the WNBA Finals between the Liberty and Lynx served because the league’s most-watched championship sequence in 25 years and averaged 1.6 million viewers, in line with ESPN.
The Liberty, who host the Solar on Could 9 and face the Japanese Basketball League’s Toyota Antelopes three days later on the College of Oregon, gained’t have both of their exhibition video games on a nationwide channel, however that’ll change for 32 of their 44 regular-season video games.
“The league is growing,” Jonquel Jones mentioned Friday of the preseason change. “There’s eyes on the league. People are watching. People are excited about it.”
The Liberty waived Kaitlyn Davis, their third-round choose within the 2024 WNBA Draft.
