Women's Sports
WNBA teams kick off their 2026 seasons
The Liberty played their season opener on Friday, and it was a “celebration of their 30th season” that filled Barclays Center with “’90s-esque tributes harkening back to the franchise’s inaugural year in 1997″ (ESPN.com, 5/9). Barclays Center was “jam packed” with 17,615 in attendance for the matchu...
Bueckers-Clark matchup sets table for WNBA’s future
The Wings and Fever opened their WNBA seasons on Saturday before 17,274 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The arena was “filled with fans and storylines” on Saturday in what was a “historic day for the WNBA and a huge moment” for the Wings, who outlasted the Fever 107-104. Wings G Paige Bueckers and Fever G...
Tempo open inaugural season before sellout crowd
The Toronto Tempo opened their inaugural season before at sellout of 8,210 at Coca-Cola Coliseum. While the Tempo lost to the Mystics, the atmosphere of the WNBA’s debut of a Canadian team was “exactly what the team hoped to see.” The game was a “historic one -- both on and off the court.” The energ...
Fire set WNBA crowd record for an expansion team in opener
The Portland Fire opened their inaugural season on Saturday and set a “WNBA record for an expansion team’s season opener” with 19,335 at Moda Center. That “surpasses the mark” set by the Golden State Valkyries last season of 18,064 (Portland OREGONIAN, 5/9). The concourse was “flooded with Portlande...
New TV pacts make WNBA a broadcasting ‘bargain’
The WNBA begins its 30th season with new media rights agreements that make the league “one of the best -- if not the best -- bargains in sports broadcasting,” according to Shlomo Sprung of YAHOO SPORTS. A source said that the agreements total $3.1B over 10 years. Two years ago, the league secured an...
WNBA Media Notes
Roku on Wednesday launched the WNBA Zone, a new, streamlined destination created in partnership with the WNBA. The Zone centralizes live matchups, scores, highlights and more in one location. It is available now (Roku).
WNBA enters 30th season balancing tradition, transformation
The WNBA’s 30th season, which tips off Friday, will be about “balancing the league’s history with the bold changes which could define its future,” according to Jackie Powell of NBCSPORTS.com. There will be new media partners, new expansion teams -- the Fire and Tempo -- and new player stories to fol...
WNBA’s new CBA sets stage for transformative next chapter
All eyes “remain on the WNBA as it embarks on its next chapter and how effectively this new transformative” CBA can “shift this rocket ship to turbo mode,” according to Philippou & Shelburne of ESPN.com. The standard for what it takes to run a WNBA team has “never been higher.” The players are n...
Tempo’s tip-off begins Canada’s WNBA era
The Tempo tipping off their inaugural WNBA season against the Mystics at Coca-Cola Coliseum on Friday marks the “culmination of months of compressed preparation and years of belief that professional women’s basketball would finally have a permanent home north of the border,” according to Lori Ewing ...
Portland Fire debut ignites optimism for success
Excitement for the Portland Fire’s inaugural WNBA season ahead of its debut Saturday at the Moda Center is “palpable,” and the team’s chances of success “seem high” as women’s basketball becomes “increasingly mainstream,” according to Eve Peyser of the PORTLAND BUSINESS JOURNAL. The team’s list of c...
Clark sees upcoming season as chance to grow off-court presence
Fever G Caitlin Clark is growing as an “endorsement sensation and business mogul,” and she is “well aware that on-court achievement will unlock so much more off the court,” according to Shlomo Sprung of YAHOO SPORTS. Clark inked a multiyear extension with Xfinity as a sponsor that “further establish...
WNBA anticipating significant commercial growth in historic 30th season
The WNBA heads into its fourth decade with labor peace following the negotiation of a transformative CBA, two expansion teams (with more to come) and a record media deal.
SBJ Live: Women’s sports properties prioritize social-first strategies to build younger fandom
Women’s sports properties are looking closely how they build and sustain younger fandom, with leaders across leagues, media and brand strategy prioritizing athlete-driven storytelling, social-first distribution and purposeful fan experiences to capture the next generation of fans.
Detroit PWHL team could play mix of doubleheaders with Red Wings
Ilitch Sports + Entertainment President & CEO Ryan Gustafson said that the company anticipates a “mix of doubleheaders on Red Wings game days and standalone games” with the Detroit PWHL team at Little Caesars Arena, according to Bultman & Salvian of THE ATHELTIC. Gustafson added that they “w...
Upshot League nears launch with eye on national growth
Upshot League brass addressed media members ahead of the launch of its inaugural season on May 15. The U.S. women’s basketball league is co-founded by Zawyer Sports & Entertainment CEO Andy Kaufmann, former WNBA President Donna Orender -- who also serves as commissioner -- and Deloitte veteran M...
WNBA adds AWS to its Changemaker Collective
Amazon Web Services has signed its first sponsorship of a women’s professional sports league, joining the WNBA’s Changemaker Collective as the official cloud and cloud AI sponsor.
Victory+ adds Atlanta Dream to its WNBA portfolio
Victory+ will stream the Atlanta Dream’s local games for free this season, a follow-up to its recent deal with the Lynx and more momentum as it solicits crucial financing from investors.
Rising valuations, interest challenging NWSL’s goal of affordability
The NWSL is “still the best deal in sports, especially when many leagues are looking to squeeze more revenue from loyal fans,” but rising valuations and interest “threaten that affordability,” according to Asli Pelit of THE ATHLETIC. While the WNBA’s “rise is real, and arguably overdue,” it is also ...
PWHL taps Detroit as first member of 2026-27 expansion class
The PWHL is expanding to Detroit as part of an aggressive growth plan that could see the league add up to four teams for the upcoming 2026-27 season. The ninth PWHL team will be part of the league’s single-entity ownership structure under TWG Global and be a tenant of Ilitch Sports + Entertainment a...
WNBA signs Skechers to official league sponsorship deal
The WNBA has inked a multiyear deal with Skechers, naming the footwear brand an official sponsor of the league as it approaches its milestone 30th season. Terms of the deal were not revealed.
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Quote of the Day
We don’t really believe in price controls. That’s kind of like what dynamic pricing can do. It actually shows just how sought-after it is to come to the United States for a World Cup.-- Trump Administration World Cup Chief Andrew Giuliani, defending the high cost of tickets for World Cup matches in the U.S.
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