WNBA, ESPN announce 2023 national broadcast schedule

On Wednesday, the WNBA and ESPNannounced that 25 national broadcasts will occur during the regularseason across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2. The star-studded New YorkLiberty lead all teams with nine national broadcasts, with thereigning champion Las Vegas Aces not far behind withseven.

The two super teams will face off Aug.6 on ABC.

You can read the full releasebelow:

NEW YORK, March 8,2023– The WNBA and ESPN today announced thatthe league’s 27thregular season, set to tip off onFriday, May 19, will be highlighted by 25national broadcastsduring the regular season across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2.

During the upcoming season, the WNBAwill collaborate with ESPN to present up to 52 possible gamesbeginning with the WNBA Regular Season presented by Google andextending through the WNBA Playoffs presented by Google, which willfeature up to 27 games, including the WNBA Finals presented byYouTube TV. In addition,history will be made on Saturday,July 15 when the 2023 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas airsfor the first time in primetime on ABC (8:30 p.m. ET).

Added coverage will be providedbyWNBA Countdown presented by Google– ESPN’spregame show introduced during the 2022 WNBA postseason – whichwill now be available throughout the regular season with at least10 editions immediately preceding game broadcasts.

The complete television and streamingschedule, including games on CBS Television Network, Paramount+,CBS Sports Network, NBA TV, Meta Horizon Worlds, and Twitter willbe announced at a later date.

“As we get set to tip off our27thseason, ESPN is once again stepping up as anincredibly engaged broadcast partner for the WNBA,” said WNBACommissioner Cathy Engelbert. “We are grateful that ESPN willprovide significant opportunities to tell the stories of theincredible players across the league in 2023. From tip-off weekendthrough the highly anticipated postseason, ESPN and Google willcontinue to serve our growing fan base and deliver a robustnational platform for WNBA players with game broadcasts and new,regular-season pregame shows.”

“As ESPN enters its 27th season withthe WNBA, we continue to elevate our coverage of this exceptionalleague with premier broadcast windows, expanded studio programmingand best-in-class storytelling,” said Matt Kenny, vice president ofprogramming and acquisitions, ESPN. “Our ongoing collaboration withthe WNBA resulted in unprecedented growth and success last year andwe have a marquee schedule that will once again showcase theleague’s best players and teams across ESPN platforms.”

The ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 broadcast schedulegets underway on Friday, May 19, as part ofWNBA Tip-Offpresented by CarMaxwhen Brittney Griner, an eight-time WNBAAll-Star selection and two-time Kia WNBA Defensive Player of theYear, and Diana Taurasi, the WNBA’s career scoring leader and athree-time league champion now entering her19thseason, lead the Phoenix Mercury against theLos Angeles Sparks. The Sparks’revamped rosterincludes2016 WNBA MVP Nneka Ogwumike and veteranacquisitionsAzuráStevens and Jasmine Thomas. That gamewill air on ESPN and stream on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. PT (11 p.m. ET),marking the first time a WNBA game will be available on the ESPNstreaming service.

“It’s been refreshing to see women’ssports getting more of the attention it deserves over the past yearand a half,” said Kate Johnson, Director of Global Sports &Entertainment Marketing Partnerships, Content and Media at Google.“We’re passionate about elevating coverage of women athletes and aswe enter our third year as a WNBA Changemaker, continuing to workside by side with the WNBA and EPSN to air more nationallytelevised games is something we’re extremely proud of. We’llcontinue to challenge ourselves and others to raise the bar forrepresenting women’s sports equitably.

WNBA Tip-Off Presented byCarMaxalso includes a star-studded ABC doubleheader onSaturday, May 20. Action tips off when the Atlanta Dream, led bynewly acquired Allisha Gray and reigning Kia WNBA Rookie of theYear Rhyne Howard, visit Gray’s former team, the Dallas Wings, withnewly acquired WNBA All-Stars Diamond DeShields and Natasha Howardalongside Arike Ogunbowale, one of the league’s top scorers in eachof the past four seasons (1 p.m. ET).

In the second game of thedoubleheader, the Seattle Storm and four-time WNBA All-Star andtwo-time champion Jewell Loyd hostthe defending WNBA championLas Vegas Aces (3 p.m. ET). The Aces’ roster includes 2022 awardwinners Chelsea Gray (WNBA Finals MVP and Commissioner’s CupChampionship Game MVP), Kelsey Plum (All-WNBA First Team andAll-Star Game MVP), A’ja Wilson (Kia WNBA MVP and Kia WNBADefensive Player of the Year) and Jackie Young (Kia WNBA MostImproved Player), along with free agent acquisition Candace Parker,a two-time MVP and two-time league champion.

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The opening weekend of WNBA Tip-OffPresented by CarMax concludes on Sunday, May 21, when Griner,Taurasi and the Mercury host 2021 WNBA Finals MVP Kahleah Copperand the Chicago Sky in a rematch of the 2021 WNBA Finals on ESPNand ESPN+ at 4 p.m. ET.

The New York Liberty, which added 2021Kia WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones, 2018 MVP Breanna Stewart and six-timeleague assists leader Courtney Vandersloot to a roster that alreadyincluded 2022 All-WNBA selection and 2020 No. 1 overall draft pick,Sabrina Ionescu, will play nine games acrossESPN platforms.The 2022 champion Aceswill appear seven times. The two teams,which feature a combined eight 2022 WNBA All-Stars, will meet fourtimes in the regular season and go head-to-head on ABC on Sunday,Aug. 6 from New York (3 p.m. ET).

Additional Highlights ofthe ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 Broadcast Schedule:

Six teams will each be showcased four times, including theConnecticut Sun, led by 2022 WNBA All-Star Brionna Jones and fellowAll-Star Alyssa Thomas, who posted a WNBA-record fourtriple-doubles across the 2022 regular season and postseason.Dallas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Seattle, and Washington will alsoappear four times each.In addition to the opening weekend broadcasts featuring Grinerand Taurasi, coverage of the Mercury is set for Tuesday, July 25,when Phoenix visits Rhyne Howard and the Dream (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET)and on Sunday, Sept. 10 – the final day of the regular season –when Phoenix travels to Las Vegas to face the All-Star quintet ofGray, Parker, Plum, Wilson and Young (ESPN2, 3 p.m. ET).Stewart, who starred with Seattle for six seasons from 2016-22,will face her former team in a pair of national telecasts – firstwhen the Liberty visits the Storm on Tuesday, May 30 (ESPN2, 9 p.m.ET), and on Saturday, July 8, when the Storm travels to New York(ESPN, 1:30 p.m. ET).New York’s Courtney Vandersloot, who helped Chicago to twoappearances in the WNBA Finals presented by YouTube TV, including aWNBA championship in 2021, will square off against her former teamwhen the Liberty visits the Sky on Sunday, Sept. 3 (ESPN2, 3 p.m.ET).ABC will air star-studded doubleheaders across two weekends inJune beginning on Sunday, June 11, when the Liberty host the Wings(1 p.m. ET) and the Storm host two-time MVP Elena Delle Donne,two-time WNBA All-Star Ariel Atkins and the Washington Mystics (3p.m. ET). On Sunday, June 25, New York hosts Washington (1 p.m. ET)and the Sparks welcome the Wings (3 p.m. ET) to Los Angeles.Connecticut and Las Vegas, which met in the 2022 WNBA Finalspresented by YouTube TV, will play on Saturday, July 1 (ABC, 3 p.m.ET).In advance of the 2023 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game on July 15,the WNBA’s Skills Challenge and the Starry Three-Point Contest willair on ESPN on Friday, July 14 at 4 p.m. ET.All games across ESPN platforms during the regular season andpostseason will stream live on the ESPN App.

The 2023 regular season will include arecord-high 40 games per team, providing fans with moreopportunities to see the best players in the world compete at thehighest level. The third year of the Commissioner’s Cup presentedby Coinbase also brings added excitement and intrigue to the firsthalf of the season for players, teams and fans.

Following the conclusion of the 2023regular season on Sunday, Sept. 10, ESPN will once againcollaborate with the WNBA to broadcast all playoff games.Wall-to-wall coverage of the WNBA Playoffs presented by Google andthe WNBA Finals presented by YouTube TV will feature up to 27nationally televised playoff games across ESPN platforms.

With the tip-off of the WNBA seasonset for May 19, ESPN Fantasy Women's Basketball is back and nowopen for the season. Fans canlockin their spotfor free today and get ready to dominatewith their favorite WNBA stars in May.Go toespn.com/fantasywomensbasketballordownload the ESPN Fantasy App to get started.