The WNBA and NWSL will be a key element of ESPN’s Sunday night sports strategy this summer.
ESPN announced Thursday that it will carry nine weeks of Sunday night WNBA and NWSL games under the banner “Women’s Sports Sundays,” which the network is characterizing as a groundbreaking programming effort. The 12-game schedule will help fill the vacancy left by ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” package, which moves over to NBC this season. [Related: How will ESPN fill its Sunday Night Baseball vacancy?]
It is not clear how many games ESPN will carry between the WNBA and NWSL. The WNBA the past two seasons has been a dramatically stronger television draw than the NWSL, averaging nearly six times the audience on the ESPN networks during their 2025 regular seasons (1.3M to 228K).
It should be noted that ESPN has long carried occasional Sunday night games from both leagues, usually after the conclusion of the baseball season (though not always; ESPN aired NWSL matches on some “Sunday Night Baseball” off-weeks last season).
There are some high-profile Sunday night games on the WNBA schedule this season, including a Liberty-Sparks game on June 21, the anniversary of the inaugural WNBA game in 1997 between the same two teams. Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever are set to face A’ja Wilson and the defending champion Las Vegas Aces on consecutive Sunday nights July 5 and 12. The Fever also face Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky on August 23.
Some of those games are likely to air on NBC, as two of the dates (July 12 and August 23) coincide with off weeks for “Sunday Night Baseball.” (The August 23 game in particular cannot air on ESPN, which has the MLB Little League Classic scheduled for the same date and time.)
ESPN has 24 Sunday nights to fill with the loss of “Sunday Night Baseball.” The “Women’s Sports Sundays” and MLB Little League Classic would account for ten. ESPN is also scheduled to carry the UFL on the first Sunday night of the MLB season March 29, followed by NHL doubleheaders on April 5, 19 and 26, and an NBA doubleheader on the final night of the regular season April 12.
One can assume Sunday nights in May will feature additional Stanley Cup playoff games and at least one NBA game (ESPN’s conference final is traditionally scheduled for a Sunday Game 7). And it would not be surprising to see NCAA College World Series softball and baseball in the Sunday night slot in June.
