By Vickie Sellers

– ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 to Spotlight Defending WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces and reigning Commissioner’s Cup presented by Coinbase Champion New York Liberty Eight Times Each –

 – 36 of 40 Indiana Fever Games to be Featured by WNBA’s National Broadcast and Streaming Partners –

 –  ION to Broadcast the Most Regular-Season Games (43) With Weekly Doubleheaders via ‘State Farm WNBA Friday Night Spotlight on ION,’ CBS Television Network to Broadcast Record-High Eight Games; Championship Game of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Presented by Coinbase to Stream Live on Prime Video –

– Consistent Viewing Opportunities for WNBA Fans Include Thursdays on Prime Video, Friday Nights on ION, and Weekends on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and CBS Television Network –

 NEW YORK, April 10, 2024 – The WNBA announced today the schedule of games to be broadcast and streamed nationally during the 2024 regular season, which will tip off on Tuesday, May 14 and run through Thursday, Sept. 19.

The television and streaming schedule for the league’s 28^th season features matchups across ESPN platforms (25 games, including nine on ABC, 14 on ESPN and two on ESPN2), CBS Television Network/Paramount+ (eight), CBS Sports Network (12), ION (43), NBA TV (40) and Prime Video (21). Additional information will be made available regarding Meta’s 20-game broadcast schedule and the schedule for other distributors.

In addition, ESPN platforms ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 – now in their 28^th year of WNBA coverage – will broadcast every game of the WNBA Playoffs presented by Google, which will feature up to 27 games, including the WNBA Finals presented by YouTube TV.

The current national television and streaming schedule is available here.

“With the energy and excitement already generated by what we anticipate will be a star-studded rookie class, and on the heels of a 2023 season that featured one of the greatest MVP races in WNBA history and our most-watched regular season in over two decades, the WNBA’s broadcast and streaming partners are offering a huge national platform that will showcase the league’s superstars, rising stars, rivalries and a newly reconfigured WNBA Commissioner’s Cup presented by Coinbase,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

The 2024 WNBA television and streaming schedule will feature all 12 WNBA teams, with a significant focus on the Indiana Fever, two-time defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, New York Liberty, Dallas Wings and Phoenix Mercury.

Indiana, which is positioned to add the No. 1 overall selection in the 2024 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm (Monday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN) to a roster that features 2023 Kia WNBA Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston, will have 36 of its 40 games featured by the WNBA’s national broadcast and streaming partners. The Fever will be featured eight times across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, eight times on ION and twice on the CBS Television Network. In addition, Indiana will be highlighted 13 times on NBA TV, four times on Prime Video, and once on CBS Sports Network.

Las Vegas looks to become the first team to win three consecutive WNBA titles since the Houston Comets won the league’s first four championships from 1997-2000. With a roster featuring two-time Kia WNBA Most Valuable Players A’ja Wilson and Candace Parker, 2023 All-Stars Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young, and the 2023 Kia WNBA Sixth Player of the Year Alysha Clark, the Aces will make the second most appearances across all platforms (35).

New York, which reached the WNBA Finals presented by YouTube TV and won the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup presented by Coinbase last season behind 2023 Kia WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart, 2021 Kia WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones, 2023 All-WNBA Second Team selection Sabrina Ionescu and seven-time WNBA assists leader Courtney Vandersloot, will have the third most games (31) presented by the league’s broadcast and streaming partners.

Las Vegas and New York will meet three times during the regular season, once each on ABC, CBS Television Network and ESPN.

Dallas, led by Arike Ogunbowale, the only player in WNBA history to rank among the top five scorers in each of her first five seasons, and 2023 Kia WNBA Most Improved Player Satou Sabally, will appear 25 times across the league’s platforms. Phoenix, led by WNBA career points leader Diana Taurasi, nine-time All-Star Brittney Griner and new additions in 2021 WNBA Finals MVP Kahleah Copper and two-time WNBA All-Defensive Team selection Natasha Cloud, also will be featured 25 times.

Highlights of the ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 Broadcast Schedule:

• Coverage on ESPN platforms encompasses 25 games during the WNBA regular season presented by Google – including the AT&T WNBA All-Star Game – and extends through the WNBA Playoffs presented by Google, featuring up to 27 games, including the WNBA Finals presented by YouTube TV.
• The ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 schedule gets underway with an ESPN2 doubleheader on opening night, Tuesday, May 14, as part of WNBA Tip-Off presented by CarMax. Action tips off with Indiana visiting the Connecticut Sun, led by Alyssa Thomas, the 2023 Kia WNBA MVP runner-up and the league’s all-time triple-doubles leader, and DeWanna Bonner, a five-time All-Star whose 6,881 career points rank third among active players (7:30 p.m. ET). In the second game, Las Vegas hosts Phoenix (10 p.m. ET). WNBA Countdown Presented by Google will cover the Aces Championship Ring Ceremony and Championship Banner Unveiling at 9:30 p.m. ET.
• WNBA Tip-Off presented by CarMax also includes a star-studded ABC doubleheader on Saturday, May 18, with New York welcoming Indiana (1 p.m. ET) and Las Vegas hosting the Los Angeles Sparks, who have the second and fourth overall picks in the 2024 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm and are led by veteran guard Lexie Brown (3 p.m. ET).
• The 2024 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game, featuring a matchup between the WNBA All-Stars who comprise the USA Basketball Women’s National Team versus the remaining WNBA All-Stars on Saturday, July 20, will be broadcast on ABC in primetime for the second consecutive season (8:30 p.m. ET). One day earlier, the Kia WNBA Skills Challenge and STARRY^® WNBA 3-Point Contest move to primetime as well (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET).
• Additional programming throughout the season includes the pregame show, WNBA Countdown presented by Google, returning for a second consecutive season.
• Las Vegas and New York, whose rosters feature a combined seven 2023 WNBA All-Stars and five 2023 All-WNBA Team selections, will each play a league-high eight games on ESPN platforms, including head-to-head matchups on Saturday, June 15 from Las Vegas (ABC, 3 p.m. ET) and on Sunday, Sept. 8 from New York (ESPN, 4 p.m. ET).
• ABC will present a 2023 WNBA semifinals rematch when New York visits Connecticut on Saturday, June 8 (1 p.m. ET).
• On Sunday, June 16 (ABC, 3 p.m. ET), six-time All-WNBA Team selection Skylar Diggins-Smith returns to Phoenix with her Seattle Storm teammates, including six-time All-WNBA Team selection Nneka Ogwumike, also in her first season with Seattle, and 2023 WNBA scoring leader Jewell Loyd.
• When the WNBA season resumes on Thursday, Aug. 15 following a break for the Paris Olympics, ESPN will showcase the Sparks hosting the Liberty (9 p.m. ET).
• All games across ESPN platforms during the regular season and postseason will stream live on the ESPN App.

Highlights of the CBS Television Network and CBS Sports Networks’ Coverage

• The eight-game CBS Television Network package, in which every broadcast is scheduled for a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, represents a doubling of the prior high of four games last season.
• The CBS Television Network tips off its coverage on May 25 (1 p.m. ET) when New York visits the Minnesota Lynx, which is led by 2023 All-WNBA First Team member Napheesa Collier and 2023 All-Rookie Team selections Dorka Juhász and Diamond Miller.
• An action-filled weekend is on tap for the CBS Television Network when Dallas welcomes Connecticut on Saturday, June 15 (1 p.m. ET); the following day the Fever host the Chicago Sky, who are led by first-time WNBA Head Coach Teresa Weatherspoon and have the third and eighth overall picks in the 2024 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm (12 p.m. ET).
• CBS Television Network will feature a rematch of the 2023 WNBA Finals presented by YouTube TV on Saturday, Aug. 17 when Las Vegas hosts New York (4 p.m. ET) in the second game of a doubleheader that gets underway when Minnesota visits the Washington Mystics, who are led by Ariel Atkins and Brittney Sykes, five-time and four-time WNBA All-Defensive Team selections, respectively (2 p.m. ET).
• New York will be highlighted on the CBS Television Network a WNBA-high three times, with Chicago, Dallas, Indiana, Las Vegas, and Minnesota each appearing twice.
• Phoenix’s five games on CBS Sports Network are the most for any team, followed by Connecticut and New York with three each.

Highlights of the ION Schedule

• With the ability to reach every U.S. television household over the air and on all major pay TV and connected TV services, ION increased the league’s female audience by 29% in 2023 and delivered an audience that was younger, more gender balanced and more racially diverse than a typical ION audience in its first season as a WNBA broadcast partner in 2023.
• In 2024, ION will again provide appointment viewing with the “State Farm WNBA Friday Night Spotlight on ION” in one or two broadcast windows per night over 14 weeks and also feature a studio show before games and at halftime.
• ION’s 43-game slate of national and local broadcasts, the most regular-season games broadcast by any single network, includes at least two games on 13 different Friday nights across the regular season with at least four games every Friday night from Aug. 23 through Sept. 13 when the playoff race heats up.
• ION’s schedule tips off with a national doubleheader on Friday, May 17, when Connecticut hosts Washington (7:30 p.m. ET) and Minnesota welcomes Seattle (9:30 p.m. ET).
• National doubleheaders are also scheduled for consecutive Fridays beginning on June 21 when Indiana visits the Atlanta Dream, led by 2023 All-Stars Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard and Cheyenne Parker and offseason addition Tina Charles, an eight-time All-Star who ranks second and fourth in WNBA history for rebounds and points, respectively (7:30 p.m. ET). In the second game, Connecticut is at Las Vegas (10 p.m. ET). On June 28, Atlanta travels to Connecticut (7:30 p.m. ET) and Phoenix hosts Los Angeles (10 p.m. ET).
• Dallas makes its 2024 national television debut on Friday, May 31, when they visit Connecticut (7:30 p.m. ET).
• Atlanta will be showcased on ION a league-high 10 times. Las Vegas and Minnesota have the second-most games (nine), followed by Connecticut and Indiana (eight).

Highlights of the Prime Video Streaming Schedule

• Now in its fourth season of WNBA coverage, Prime Video will once again provide appointment viewing as 18 of its 20 regular-season games streamed during the regular season are scheduled for Thursday nights.
• The streaming service will continue to exclusively stream the Championship Game of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup presented by Coinbase. The Championship Game will be played on Tuesday, June 25 at the arena of the team with the best record in Commissioner’s Cup play. A half a million dollars in prize money will be on the line for the participating players, each of whom also will receive $5,000 in cryptocurrency courtesy of Coinbase.
• Prime Video tips off its schedule on Thursday, May 16, when Indiana hosts New York (7 p.m. ET) in the Fever’s home opener.
• The streaming service also will help tip off the league’s post-Olympic break coverage with its presentation of Phoenix at Chicago on Thursday, Aug. 15 when Mercury newcomer Kahleah Copper makes her return to Chicago (8 p.m. ET).
• Prime Video’s remaining schedule will feature five doubleheaders, including Connecticut at Minnesota (8 p.m. ET) and Washington at Las Vegas (10 p.m. ET) on July 4.
• New York will appear on Prime Video a league-high eight times, followed by Chicago (six) and Washington (five).

Highlights of the NBA TV Schedule

• Marking its 22^nd consecutive year of WNBA coverage, NBA TV will tip off its slate of 40 games with a doubleheader on Saturday, May 18. The action gets underway with Dallas hosting Chicago (8:00 p.m. ET) and concludes with Phoenix hosting Atlanta (10 p.m. ET).
• A pair of former South Carolina Gamecocks stars and unanimous Kia WNBA Rookie of the Year selections will go head-to-head on Saturday, May 25, when A’ja Wilson and Las Vegas host Aliyah Boston and Indiana (9 p.m. ET).
• The WNBA’s 2023 scoring leader, Jewell Loyd, and Seattle will meet the league’s highest scoring team from 2023, Las Vegas, twice on NBA TV – on Wednesday June 19 (10 p.m. ET) and Tuesday, Sept. 17 (10 p.m. ET).
• When play resumes following the Olympic break, NBA TV coverage tips off on Sunday, Aug. 18 when Los Angeles travels to Las Vegas (6:00 p.m. ET)
• NBA TV will provide special coverage when Minnesota retires the jersey of WNBA legend and four-time champion Maya Moore on Saturday, Aug. 24, as the Lynx host Indiana (8 p.m. ET).
• Indiana will have the most games on NBA TV (13), followed by Las Vegas (10), Dallas (8) and New York (7).
• NBA TV’s slate of 40 games is the second-most of any platform.

WNBA League Pass will once again broaden the league’s content offerings, providing access to up to 176 live out-of-market games, as well as every game on demand.

Fans can get a free preview during preseason when the Indiana Fever visit the Dallas Wings on Friday, May 3, on Sunday, May 5 when the Los Angeles Sparks and the Seattle Storm face off in Edmonton for the second WNBA Canada Game, and on Friday, May 10 when the Indiana Fever host the Atlanta Dream.

WNBA League Pass is accessible through WNBA.com and the new WNBA App (available on iOS and Android devices), as well as on Chromecast, Fire TV, Roku, YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels. For more information, visit WNBA.com/leaguepass.

The 2024 regular season marks the second consecutive season in which each team will play a record-high 40 games, providing fans significant opportunities to see the best players in the world compete at the highest level.

COURTESY WNBA COMMUNICATIONS