The highest-profile matchup in women’s basketball is heading to broadcast network primetime twice next season, both on CBS.
The CBS broadcast network will carry two primetime matchups of Caitlin Clark and the Fever against Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky this coming season, it was announced Thursday, the first on June 7 and the second on August 9 (both Saturdays). Those will be the first meaningful WNBA games to ever air in primetime on a “Big Four” network. (ABC airs the annual All-Star exhibition game in primetime, while broadcast “netlet” ION carries weekly Friday night windows.)
The two other Sky-Fever games this season are set for ABC, one as part of an opening weekend doubleheader May 17 and the second on Sunday, July 27, both at 3 PM ET.
While Clark is far and away the biggest draw in women’s basketball, her matchups with Reese tend to draw particularly well. Last season, the four meetings of Chicago and Indiana averaged 1.9 million viewers, with the two most-watched contests delivering the league’s two largest audiences since 2001.
The complete WNBA national TV schedule was announced on Thursday. ION will have the three opening night games, including the debut of the Golden State Valkyries, followed by ABC’s May 17 doubleheader of Aces-Liberty and the aforementioned Sky-Fever. Amazon opens its season with Fever-Dream on May 22, and CBS debuts with Liberty-Fever on May 24.
Clark and the Fever are set to play 43 of their 44 games this season on a national platform, including lower-profile outlets like NBA TV, CBS Sports Network and ESPN3. The only Indiana game not currently set for a national platform is their July 5 meeting with the Sparks.
The coming WNBA season is the last of the league’s current media rights deal. Starting next season, WNBA games will air on ESPN/ABC, NBC and Amazon as part of the broader NBA rights deal, plus up to two additional platforms that are widely expected to be the returning CBS and ION.
