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WNBA and ESPN Announce Broadcast Schedule and Added Programming For 2024 Regular Season
Schedule to spotlight defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, reigning Commissioner's Cup presented by Coinbase Champion New York Liberty, and Indiana Fever, which is positioned to add the No. 1 overall selection in the 2024 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm Eight Times Each
AT&T WNBA All-Star Game Returns to ABC in Primetime
Marquee opening week doubleheaders to feature Las Vegas Aces, New York Liberty, Indiana Fever, Phoenix Mercury, and Connecticut Sun
The WNBA and ESPN today announced that the league's 28th regular season, set to tip off on Tuesday, May 14, will be highlighted by 25 national broadcasts during the regular season across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2. ESPN Deportes, ESPN's Spanish-language network, will air select games throughout the season.
During the upcoming season, the WNBA will collaborate with ESPN to present up to 52 possible games beginning with the WNBA regular season presented by Google and extending through the WNBA Playoffs presented by Google, which will feature up to 27 games, including the WNBA Finals presented by YouTube TV. In addition, for the second consecutive year, the AT&T WNBA All-Star Game will air in primetime on ABC from Phoenix (8:30 p.m. ET).
Added coverage will be provided by WNBA Countdown presented by Google - ESPN's pregame show introduced during the 2022 WNBA postseason - which returns for the regular season with at least 10 editions immediately preceding game broadcasts.
The ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 broadcast schedule gets underway on Tuesday, May 14, as part of WNBA Tip-Off presented by CarMax with a doubleheader that will feature the Indiana Fever, which is positioned to add the No. 1 overall selection in the 2024 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm (Monday, April 15 at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN) to a roster that features 2023 Kia WNBA Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston, visiting the Connecticut Sun (ESPN2, 7:30 p.m. ET). The Sun are 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.
In the second game of the night, Las Vegas - led by 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 - tips off its quest 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, when they host the Phoenix Mercury (ESPN2, 10 p.m. ET). Phoenix is led by WNBA career points leader Diana Taurasi, nine-time All-Star Brittney Griner and new additions in 2021 WNBA Finals MVP and three-time All Star Kahleah Copper and two-time WNBA All-Defensive Team selection Natasha Cloud. The game will be preceded by a WNBA Countdown presented by Google edition which will feature coverage of 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. Action tips off with the New York Liberty, which reached the WNBA Finals presented by YouTube TV 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, welcoming Indiana (1 p.m. ET). In the second game, the Los Angeles Sparks, who have the second and fourth overall picks in the 2024 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm, visit Las Vegas (3 p.m. ET).
The 2024 WNBA ESPN schedule will feature all 12 WNBA teams, with blockbuster matchups showcased. Indiana Fever, positioned to add the No. 1 overall selection in the 2024 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm, two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces, and star-studded New York Liberty, will be featured eight times across ESPN platforms. Three of Indiana's first four games will air on ESPN platforms.
Las Vegas and New York, whose rosters feature a combined seven 2023 WNBA All-Stars and five 2023 All-WNBA Team selections, will meet two times in the regular season across ESPN platforms. The teams will go head-to-head on their first rematch of the 2023 WNBA Finals on Sunday, June 15 (ABC, 3 p.m. ET), and on Sunday, Sept. 8 on ESPN (4 p.m. ET).
Additional Highlights of the ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 Broadcast Schedule:
· In addition to the opening weekend broadcast featuring Boston and her team's No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm, coverage of Indiana is set for Monday, May 20, when they host the Sun - ESPN's first Indiana home game (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET). On Sunday, June 30 Indiana travels to Phoenix to face off against Taurasi (ESPN, 3 p.m. ET), and on Tuesday, July 2, Indiana will visit the 2023 Aces defending champion (ESPN, 9:30 p.m. ET). The Aces announced that they are moving their July 2 game vs Indiana to T-Mobile Arena which can hold approximately 6,000-7,000 more seats than their current arena, the Michelob Ultra Arena.
· ESPN platforms will present two 2023 WNBA semifinals rematches when New York visits Connecticut on Saturday, June 8 (ABC, 1 p.m. ET), and Las Vegas hosts Dallas, led by All-Stars Arike Ogunbowale and Satou Sabally (ESPN, 3 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 new 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.
· Eight-time all-star and 2012 MVP Tina Charles, who sat out the 2023 season, will visit the Liberty, a team she was on from 2014-2019, on Sunday, June 30 (ESPN, 1 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(R) WNBA 3-Point Contest move to primetime as well (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET).
· 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.
Following the conclusion of the 2024 regular season on Sunday, Sept. 19, ESPN will once again collaborate with the WNBA to broadcast all playoff games. Wall-to-wall coverage of the WNBA Playoffs presented by Google and the WNBA Finals presented by YouTube TV will feature up to 27 nationally televised playoff games across ESPN platforms.
ESPN Fantasy Women's Basketball, the first-ever full-scale fantasy game dedicated to a major women's sport, is now open for signups ahead of the start of the 2024 WNBA season on Tuesday, May 14. Like other industry-leading ESPN Fantasy games, ESPN Fantasy Women's Basketball is supported with analytical tools and editorial insights to help fans with their drafts, manage rosters, make trades, and more. ESPN Fantasy Women's Basketball will be available to play in the ESPN Fantasy App for iOS and Android.
Below is the complete ESPN Platforms regular-season schedule. A link to the full WNBA schedule can be located here.
2024 ESPN Platforms Regular-Season Broadcast Schedule
Date Time (ET) Away Home Platforms
Tue., May 14
7:30 PM Indiana Connecticut ESPN2
10:00 PM Phoenix Las Vegas ESPN2
Sat., May 18
1:00 PM Indiana New York ABC
3:00 PM Los Angeles Las Vegas ABC
Mon., May 20 7:00 PM Connecticut Indiana ESPN
Sat., June 8 1:00 PM New York Connecticut ABC
Thu., June 13 7:00 PM Seattle Dallas ESPN
Sat., June 15 3:00 PM New York Las Vegas ABC
Sun., June 16 3:00 PM Seattle Phoenix ABC
Sat., June 22 3:00 PM Los Angeles New York ESPN
Sat., June 29 2:00 PM Las Vegas Washington ESPN
Sun., June 30
1:00 PM Atlanta New York ESPN
3:00 PM Indiana Phoenix ESPN
Tue., Jul. 2 9:30 PM Indiana Las Vegas ESPN
Wed., Jul. 3 8:00 PM Phoenix Dallas ESPN
Sun., Jul. 7 3:00 PM Dallas Las Vegas ESPN
Sat., Jul 13 1:00 PM New York Chicag · ABC
Sun., Jul 14
1:00 PM Phoenix Connecticut ABC
4:00 PM Indiana Minnesota ESPN
Wed., Jul 17 7:30 PM Indiana Dallas ESPN
Fri., Jul. 19 9:00 PM STARRY(R) WNBA 3-Point Contest and the Kia WNBA Skills Challenge ESPN
Sat., Jul. 20 8:30 PM 2024 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game ABC
Thur., Aug. 15 9:00 PM New York Los Angeles ESPN
Sun., Aug. 18 3:30 PM Seattle Indiana ABC
Wed., Aug. 21 9:30 PM Minnesota Las Vegas ESPN
Sun., Sept. 8 4:00 PM Las Vegas New York ESPN
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