Must-C (Caitlin Clark) TV: ESPN, Prime VIdeo, CBS Ready To Rock WNBA ’24

By Barry Janoff

UPDATED May 14, 2024: The Connecticut Sun said its May 14 home opener against the Indiana Fever with Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston in Mohegan Sun Arena has officially sold out.

The Sun’s 8,910 tickets sold marks the first sellout of the 2024 season for Connecticut and the first time since the Sun’s inaugural game at Mohegan Sun Arena in 2003 against the Los Angeles Sparks, that a home opener has sold out.

The Washington Mystics have moved their June 6 home game against the Chicago Sky with rookies Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso from the Entertainment and Sports Arena (capacity 4,200), to Capital One Arena (capacity 20,000). Previously, “due to the unprecedented demand,” the Mystics said the game against the Indiana Fever June 7 would now be played in Capital One Arena.

May 10, 2024: The tsunami that is the 2024 WNBA season is about to hit.

Among WNBA ’24 Tipoff presented by CarMax broadcasts, ESPN has a full-court press planned for Caitlin Clark’s first regular season WNBA game with the Indiana Fever on May 14.

Amazon’s Prime Video begins its regular-season coverage of the WNBA season on May 16, ION’s 14-week schedule starts May 17, NBA TV will air 40 regular-season games beginning May 18 and CBS Sports will have the most league broadcast games for the network's platform beginning May 25.

WNBA games this season can also be seen on outlets including Disney+, Paramount+, Meta, DirecTV and Fubo.

Variety is reporting that Amazon said it has "struck a sponsorship deal with AT&T that will have the telecommunications perennial serve as the lead sponsor for 21 WNBA games shown on Prime Video, and the presenting sponsor of the halftime show that airs during the service’s National Women’s Soccer League matches.

"When Clark’s home WNBA debut streams on May 16, Prime Video’s first regular-season game, coverage plans, live and on-site from Indianapolis, include wraparound shoulder programming, beginning with Prime Video’s WNBA Pregame Show presented by AT&T." (Full story here.)

As part of the league’s growth plans, Canadian Broadcasting Corp. Sports is reporting that Kilmer Sports Inc., headed by Toronto billionaire Larry Tanenbaum, has been granted an expansion franchise with the WNBA.

An announcement is expected May 23 in Toronto, with the team to begin play in May 2026.

The team would play in Coca-Cola Coliseum, an 8,000-seat arena.

The new Toronto club would be the 14th team in the WNBA. An expansion franchise in Golden State is set to join the league in 2025. (Full story here.)

The 2024 season is feted by the league in a new campaign, “WNBA: Welcome To The W" (pictured above).

The WNBA Draft presented by State Farm (April 15) saw Clark (Iowa) selected as the overall No. 1 pick by the Fever and the arrival of heralded rookies including Angel Reese (LSU), Cameron Brink (Stanford), Rickea Jackson (Tennessee) and Kamilla Cardosa (South Carolina).

“Certainly Caitlin Clark is going to drive a lot of interest and conversation,” Sara Gaiero, ESPN vp-production, said during a media conference call today (May 10).

“I think the rest of the rookie class is just sort of equally as dynamic, and I don’t want them to get lost in all the Caitlin Clark conversation because Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson and Nika Muhl and Angel and Kamilla, these are star power names that are in the league as well and that will draw significant interest, in my opinion around the game.

"So, I don’t want them to get lost in the shuffle.”


On ESPN, WNBA Tip-Off Presented by CarMax will feature a doubleheader on May 14, as Clark debuts alongside a roster that features 2023 Kia WNBA Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston, visiting the Connecticut Sun.

Coverage includes ESPN2, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes and for the first time on Disney+.

ESPN said it would will utilize a “WNBA Finals-level production setup for Indiana’s first game to document Clark’s debut.”

Coverage will feature multiple camera angles, including "Below and Above the Rim Cam" viewing options, roving RF handheld cameras and player mics.

“We’ve looked at this, enhancing it to a WNBA Finals-level type show because we feel it’s important to come out of the gates and just document appropriately here,” Gaiero said.

“In terms of an on-site footprint, it’s large. I don’t have a specific number, but I would say generally our on-site footprint is somewhat smaller — 25, 30 people. I think we’re probably upwards around 75 folks that could be on site.

“So, it’s going to be a significant increase. Some of that is due to having WNBA Countdown on site with us. Comes with a whole other set of production and technical folks. But we’ve had conversations with the venue and we are understanding they are at capacity. They’re full, full, full. So, we’re certainly contributing to that.”

The first regular season edition of WNBA Countdown Presented by Google pre-game show will originate live from Mohegan Sun preceding Indiana at Connecticut.

ESPN said that due to Clark’s “unprecedented” popularity in sports, Cristina Alexander will examine "what games and match-ups will be must-see" during SportsCenter May 13.

NBA Today will continue to cover Clark and the start of her rookie season, including a live report from the Fever’s first game on May 14.

Prime Video will begin its regular-season coverage of the 2024 WNBA season May 16 with the Fever hosting the New York Liberty.

The game — the home opener and second regular-season game for Clark and the Fever — is the first of 21 exclusive national games that Prime Video will stream this season, including the Championship Game of the Commissioner’s Cup presented by Coinbase on June 25. (Full schedule here.)

“We’re thrilled to continue bringing exclusive national coverage of the WNBA and highlighting these exceptional athletes to Prime members,” Charlie Neiman, head of Sports Partnerships, Prime Video, said via the company.

“Following a successful 2023 season, we’re looking forward to reaching even more milestones with the WNBA and furthering our commitment to women’s sports.”

CBS Sports and the WNBA last month signed a new multi-year agreement that features the most league broadcast games for the network.

CBS Sports will present eight regular season games per year on the CBS Television Network beginning with the 2024 season.

An additional 12 games will be televised on CBS Sports Network for the duration of the deal. The new agreement extends the existing five-year partnership with the league.

“We’re thrilled to extend our strong partnership with the WNBA,” Dan Weinberg, evp-programming, CBS Sports, said via the network.

“As the league continues to build momentum, this is a great opportunity to expand our broadcast presence and further lean into our commitment to providing a national platform for women’s sports.”

NBA TV will begin its 22nd season of WNBA coverage with a double-header featurng the Chicago Sky and 2024 WNBA first round pick Angel Reese hosting the Dallas Wings and Arike Ogunbowale (May 18), followed by the Phoenix Mercury and Diana Taurasi visiting the Atlanta Dream and Rhyne Howard.

Caitlin Clark's first appearance on NBA TV sees the Fever visiting the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces and A'ja Wilson on May 25.

Indiana will have the most games on NBA TV (13), followed by Las Vegas (10), Dallas (8) and New York (7).

WNBA Weekly presented by CarMax returns for its fifth season on NBA TV with a special hour-long season preview show on May 13.

ION’s 14-week schedule — available to TV and streaming viewers nationwide — includes 40+ national, regional, or local games from May 17-Sept. 13.

The Los Angeles Sparks said that three home games have been moved from Walter Pyramid (5,000 seats) back to Crypto.com Arena (20,000), including Caitlin Clark’s first WNBA game with the Fever in Los Angeles (May 24).

Sparks home games were originally moved to the Long Beach venue due to construction at Crypto.com Arena.

The Washington Mystics moved their home game vs. Clark (June 7) from Entertainment & Sports Arena (4,200 seats) to Capital One Arena (20,356 seats) and the Aces are moving their home game vs. Clark (July 2) from Michelob Ultra Arena (12,000 seats) to T-Mobile Arena (18,000).

WNBA sales on StubHub have grown 93% compared to last season, with the Indiana Fever “at the forefront of this growth” according to the online ticket destination, with sales up 13-times vs. 2023, following their selection of overall No. 1 draft pick Caitlin Clark.

Nine of the Top Ten best-selling games of the season on StubHub are Indiana Fever away games, with the exception of Phoenix at Las Vegas (May 14).

Seven of those Fever away games are on ESPN, ABC, ESPN 2 or NBA TV.

That includes the Fever at the Liberty with 2023 WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart (May 18, ABC) and the Fever at Las Vegas (May 25, NBA TV), StubHub’s two most in-demand games.

According to ESPN’s Gaiero, “We can’t let our foot off the gas now with the exposure of this sport; exposure is huge. Being able to access it is huge.

“Now that we’ve got the platforms to do so, we increase our storytelling around it. We deepen our analysis around it and that can help again turn these fans from casual to committed, and then you just see the growth from there, the stars. These players are stars in their own spaces.

“That’s the momentum we have to keep pushing and pushing and pushing for to let the stories not disappear now that we’re at this point.”

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