Viewership numbers for the WNBA continue to rise, reflecting growing fan engagement and a larger footprint in national sports conversations. According to Nielsen, the 2023 WNBA season saw a 21% increase in average viewers per game compared to the previous year, signaling an accelerating demand for wider coverage.
In response to this surge, DirecTV and U-Verse have aligned with Scripps Sports to broaden access through Ion Television, introducing a new slate of nationally televised games. This expanded broadcast arrangement brings additional live matchups to more households, delivering on the league’s ambitions for amplified national reach.
For fans, this directly translates to deeper access, more consistent coverage, and a reason to tune in weekly. For the industry, it pushes the needle on how women's sports are positioned and prioritized in U.S. broadcast strategy. Ready to follow your team on a new channel?
DirecTV continues to hold a prominent position in American pay television. With over 11.7 million subscribers as of the third quarter of 2023, according to Statista, it remains a major access point for both live and on-demand content. After spinning off from AT&T in 2021, DirecTV now operates as a standalone company. This independence gives it more flexibility to negotiate content deals like the one featuring additional WNBA games through Scripps Sports. Its reach across satellite and streaming (via DirecTV Stream) ensures that it remains deeply embedded in the American viewing ecosystem.
Though AT&T has shifted much of its focus toward broadband and wireless, U-Verse TV quietly persists in select regions. Once marketed as a cutting-edge IPTV solution, U-Verse peaked with around 5.6 million subscribers in 2015. Today, while usage has dropped significantly, households maintaining U-Verse connections will benefit from expanded programming thanks to the new arrangement with Scripps Sports. U-Verse still serves as a legacy platform, especially valuable in areas where local cable alternatives are limited.
ION Television, now part of The E.W. Scripps Company, reaches 123 million Americans across 62 owned-and-operated stations. Once known primarily for syndicated crime dramas and reruns, ION rebranded its strategy under Scripps ownership to include more live sports content. The addition of WNBA games fulfills that direction, leveraging ION’s wide reach over-the-air (OTA) to make games accessible without cable or streaming subscriptions. Its frequency and accessibility position it as a central pillar in WNBA's national broadcasting push.
Launched in 2022, Scripps Sports serves as the sports-focused division of The E.W. Scripps Company. The division quickly gained attention by acquiring rights to the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights and now the WNBA. Unlike traditional cable sports networks, Scripps Sports prioritizes OTA distribution, radically widening access. It taps into a growing demand for free, local access to live sports, sidestepping paywalls and regional blackouts. Collaborations with DirecTV and U-Verse further push its content into established paid TV ecosystems.
Heading into its 28th season, the WNBA continues to escalate both in talent and visibility. 2023 saw record-breaking attendance and growing social media engagement. According to Nielsen, WNBA viewership on ESPN networks increased 21% year-over-year in 2022. The league has aggressively pursued media deals to capitalize on this momentum, culminating in the current partnership with Scripps Sports. The expansion into ION broadcasts—complemented by distribution deals with DirecTV and U-Verse—signals a deliberate move to grow prime-time exposure and national reach.
In a landmark agreement announced in April 2023, the Women’s National Basketball Association partnered with Scripps Sports to deliver national broadcasts of league games on Ion, a network with massive reach across the United States. This isn’t a streaming-only arrangement or a niche cable add-on. Instead, it introduces WNBA Friday Night Spotlight Games on a widely accessible broadcast platform—every Friday during the regular season.
Ion, owned by The E.W. Scripps Company, can be found in 123 million television homes, covering 97% of U.S. households. Its status as a fast-growing over-the-air network gives this partnership significant weight in making women’s basketball mainstream viewing, particularly for audiences without cable or premium streaming bundles.
The deal includes 44 Friday night games, a substantial boost in national visibility for the league. That translates into consistent, primetime weekly slots—something previously unmatched in women's professional basketball. These games sit outside the traditional WNBA TV rights agreements with ESPN and CBS, which means added exposure rather than redistributed content.
Scripps isn’t only banking on Ion’s linear reach. As part of its multi-year commitment, it’s also extending game availability through its over-the-air distribution, local affiliate marketing, and digital-reach strategy. In practice, this brings the games to both traditional TV and modern streaming windows.
Fans can tune in via Ion’s live TV schedule, and some regional affiliates are offering additional localized content. Select digital platforms supported by Scripps are also expected to carry the games, expanding reach beyond traditional living room setups.
The WNBA-Scripps partnership goes beyond broadcasting. By placing the games front and center every week in primetime, the league gains structural momentum in marketability, sponsorship value, and fan engagement. Regular exposure drives cultural penetration, and the consistency of Friday night games creates a must-watch habit among current and new fans.
For Scripps, this aligns with a broad strategy to redefine what's possible in sports media. For the WNBA, this means deeper market penetration and the opportunity to convert casual viewers into lifelong supporters by relying on predictable, high-quality national airtime.
DirecTV and U-Verse are now carrying WNBA games aired on ION through their channel lineups, following a newly activated deal with Scripps Sports. Subscribers can now access Friday night WNBA matchups live, with scheduled replays and regional availability enhancing the experience beyond a single time slot. This integration marks a deliberate extension of both providers' sports portfolios, reinforcing their relevance in an era of increasingly fragmented sports broadcasting.
The games broadcast by ION will be available live in high definition across both platforms, ensuring visual fidelity and real-time access. DirecTV subscribers can locate ION on channel 305, while U-Verse viewers can tune in to channel 195 for standard definition or 1195 for HD. Replays are guaranteed, providing flexibility for viewers who miss the initial airing. Games are not geo-restricted, enabling national access without regional blackouts—an important difference from some other sports carriage agreements.
This move enriches DirecTV’s and U-Verse’s sports programming without requiring new subscription fees or add-ons. Basketball fans gain direct weekly access to WNBA matchups in primetime, opening opportunities for casual viewers and dedicated followers alike to track their teams throughout the season. By embedding this content directly into existing packages, both platforms position themselves as more complete entertainment solutions.
For DirecTV and U-Verse, this isn’t just content acquisition—it’s a strategic update to align with shifting viewer interests. As women’s sports draw growing attention, placing WNBA games in more households each week reflects a calculated expansion rather than a token inclusion.
The partnership between Scripps Sports, DirecTV, and U-Verse now makes it simpler to follow more WNBA action. Fans can tune into live games airing on Ion through several viewing avenues, whether they’re relying on traditional cable, over-the-air television, or streaming services. This diversified approach ensures viewers are no longer boxed in by limited broadcast windows or platform restrictions.
DirecTV and U-Verse subscribers will find Ion included in their channel lineups, offering consistent access to nationally televised WNBA games. With scheduled primetime matchups and additional weekday games, viewers using either service won’t need to switch platforms or upgrade packages to catch the action.
Ion's content is also available over-the-air in 123 U.S. markets through affiliated broadcasting stations. Viewers using a digital antenna can catch the same WNBA games at no subscription cost, assuming they live within signal range.
Fans preferring to stream games online have available paths with live TV services that carry Ion in their channel rosters. Options include:
Not every live TV streaming service includes Ion, so availability will vary by ZIP code. Checking local broadcast rights through the provider's website guarantees accurate listings.
The combined distribution through DirecTV, U-Verse, antennas, and streaming services reshapes how fans connect with the WNBA. This approach addresses modern viewing habits by giving audiences the ability to watch live sports the way they choose—on TV, mobile devices, or laptops. Fragmented availability no longer stands between fans and primetime basketball.
Scripps Sports has introduced a dedicated prime-time window—Friday Night Spotlight—exclusively for WNBA matchups airing on ION. Every Friday night, fans can now expect nationally televised games that consistently position the league at the forefront of weekend viewing. This isn't simply a scheduling decision; it's a deliberate editorial choice that puts the WNBA on a weekly pedestal. The consistency of a designated night builds viewing habits, fosters appointment television, and creates a reliable platform for storytelling around teams, players, and rivalries.
In structure and intention, Friday Night Spotlight mirrors the NBA's highly successful primetime slates on major networks. The NBA on ESPN and TNT dominates viewership numbers with strong Thursday and Friday night schedules—Scripps is replicating that cadence for the WNBA. While the NBA’s Thursday night doubleheaders pull in millions—averaging 1.68 million viewers across TNT broadcasts during the 2022–23 season—the WNBA now has its own platform to challenge historic disparities in media exposure.
This move changes context. Instead of being secondary programming or competing with non-sports slots, WNBA games now stand as feature content in a competitive weekend lineup. Having a consistent national window like the NBA’s proves to advertisers and commentators that the league draws interest, numbers, and storytelling potential.
Scheduled national games during accessible hours directly increase casual viewership. A predictable primetime slot boosts social media chatter, encourages same-day promotion across platforms, and helps networks build synergy across broadcast and digital. Sponsors, once hesitant due to lack of visibility, are given a clearer incentive. That directly translates to increased revenue potential for players and teams and drives the broader commercial appeal of the league.
The WNBA has long operated as a league where passionate fans found their way to broadcasts through effort—now the experience is being simplified and elevated. The “Friday Night Spotlight” on ION, through its availability on DirecTV and U-Verse, ensures the content surfaces without friction to a national audience. Consider this: when time slots shift from mid-afternoon weekends to national primetime, audience demographics change, financial value increases, and cultural relevance locks in.
Can a consistent Friday night window reshape perceptions of WNBA basketball? Early indicators say yes—and history suggests scheduled certainty has always preceded audience growth.
Whether you're a long-time WNBA season ticket holder or someone who dips into the playoffs each summer, this expanded partnership means one thing: easier access. With Ion games now rolling out on DirecTV and U-Verse thanks to Scripps Sports, fans won't need to shuffle between fragmented streaming options or hope for sporadic national coverage. Instead, games will appear in a consistent, predictable format, right on platforms many viewers already use daily.
This shift reduces friction for casual viewers who may not subscribe to dedicated sports packages. Simultaneously, it empowers passionate fans to watch more games without geographic or technical barriers. Busy on Thursday but free on Friday night? That WNBA game is waiting.
Las Vegas and New York have enjoyed strong media footprints, but what about fans in Des Moines, El Paso, or Birmingham? National access via Ion ensures these cities are no longer outside the WNBA's broadcast loop. Scripps' nationwide footprint connects these overlooked regions with professional women's basketball in a way local affiliates and spotty coverage never achieved.
This upgrade actively reshapes the WNBA's distribution map — not just adding fans in big markets but igniting interest where the league has space to grow.
WNBA games airing regularly on Ion with defined schedules offers a critical advantage: it trains fans to expect content at specific times. Regular Thursday night games, for example, turn casual viewership into weekly rituals. This level of predictability hasn't been standard in previous seasons, where games often bounced across networks and timeslots.
The result? Higher audience retention, stronger community engagement on social platforms, and even opportunities for group viewing events, both online and in person. Consistency builds trust — and trust builds loyalty.
The expansion of WNBA broadcasts, including the addition of games on Ion through DirecTV and U-Verse, aligns with a sharp upward trend in the visibility of women’s basketball. This isn’t a recent phenomenon. Viewership data, sponsorship growth, and merchandise sales all support a sustained surge in public interest.
During the 2023 WNBA season, the league saw a 21% increase in average viewership on ESPN networks compared to 2022, according to Nielsen data. That same year, the WNBA Finals achieved its highest ratings since 2003, averaging 728,000 viewers per game. These numbers are not anomalies — they reflect long-term investment in better scheduling, star-athlete storytelling, and media coverage.
Breakout athletes, college-to-pro storylines, and the success of NCAA women’s basketball have all contributed to the swell. The 2023 NCAA women’s championship shattered records with 9.9 million viewers on ABC, outdrawing the men’s semifinals on ESPN. That audience doesn't disappear after March. It carries over into the professional arena and demands visibility.
When games reach a broader national audience, brands pay attention. Corporate partners use audience demographics and engagement metrics to justify investment. According to IEG, the WNBA’s sponsorship revenue jumped to $76 million in 2022, a 20% year-over-year increase — an acceleration that tracks directly with media coverage and national exposure.
The Ion deal boosts weeknight visibility, enabling consistency in broadcasting schedules. That consistency translates into reliable impressions for brands, an incentive that can convert media visibility into on-the-ground sales through ticket purchases, merchandise transactions, and localized promotions.
Television coverage doesn’t just serve today’s fans; it shapes tomorrow’s athletes. When young viewers consistently see women’s sports in prime time, they begin to envision those paths for themselves. Exposure creates normalization, and normalization builds pipelines.
These effects are measurable. USA Basketball reported a 12% increase in participation for girls’ youth basketball programs from 2018 to 2022. That growth coincides with broader professional media coverage — the more visibility at the top, the greater the engagement at the grassroots.
Ask yourself this: how different does a Saturday night feel when you can flip on DirecTV or U-Verse and watch Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson, or Sabrina Ionescu in high-definition? That moment of access changes fan behavior. It also changes the future.
For years, WNBA coverage operated within a patchwork of regional sports networks. Access depended heavily on geography and network affiliation, making it difficult for casual fans outside of specific markets to follow the league consistently. Local broadcasts served a devout fanbase, but they didn’t scale nationally in a meaningful way. That model imposed limits—on visibility, on reach, on growth potential.
Scripps Sports upends that structure. With games airing nationally on Ion, fans across the U.S. get unified, coast-to-coast access, regardless of their location. There’s no longer a dependency on whether a regional sports network happens to carry the broadcast. If Ion is part of a viewer's lineup through DirecTV, U-Verse, or another provider, the game is on. No blackout zones. No subscription detours.
This distribution model removes a major point of friction in audience development. You won’t need to hunt for an RSN or pay extra for niche sports packages to follow your favorite team. With Ion’s wide reach—available in over 123 million homes nationwide as of Q1 2024, according to Nielsen—the WNBA’s footprint expands dramatically.
What does that mean in practical terms?
This transition signals more than distribution realignment—it redefines WNBA’s place in the national sports conversation. Teams from Seattle to Atlanta share the same broadcast stage. Momentum isn't confined by time zones or media contracts. It rides on the back of shared visibility, and that’s exactly what Ion delivers.
The sports media ecosystem no longer revolves around a handful of legacy giants. ESPN, once the undisputed king of sports broadcasting, now competes head-to-head with an aggressive mix of regional sports networks (RSNs), broadcast stations, and an expanding field of direct-to-consumer streaming platforms. Every deal—like the WNBA’s expanded visibility via Scripps Sports on Ion—reshapes this balance.
When DirecTV and U-Verse integrate WNBA on Ion into their programming, they're not just adding games—they're setting a precedent. This move directly undercuts traditional expectations that flagship content arrives only through premium cable sports channels. ESPN holds a long-standing contract with the WNBA, but this kind of distribution broadens exposure without requiring viewers to subscribe to a high-priced bundle.
The implications go deeper. As networks like Ion, operated by The E.W. Scripps Company, strike national sports deals and deliver content over-the-air and through cable systems, they create cost-efficient alternatives. That pressures RSNs and premium sports channels to prove their value, especially as carriage fees rise and subscriber numbers decline. According to Nielsen's 2023 report, cable households in the U.S. dropped below 45% for the first time, while streaming viewership surpassed cable in overall TV consumption.
Over-the-air (OTA) broadcasting adds an important layer to the strategy. Ion reaches over 185 U.S. markets via antennas, enabling mass-market penetration without the need for cable or login credentials—something ESPN can’t offer without a paid subscription. That adds immediate value to leagues seeking exposure, like the WNBA, by lowering the barrier to entry for fans.
Combine that with platforms such as DirecTV Stream and U-Verse, and the WNBA on Ion becomes accessible across multiple entry points, from smart TVs with antennas to traditional set-top boxes and mobile apps. This hybrid model channels content through both old and new pipelines, fitting consumers where they are, rather than forcing them into outdated contracts.
These forces collide as every network tries to claim attention across fragmented audiences. For leagues like the WNBA, partnerships with platforms that mix reach, accessibility, and modern tech stack up to a strategic win. For networks like Ion, sports become a powerful way to reintroduce their brand to households that long abandoned basic broadcast offerings.
So, in the contest for fan loyalty and viewership numbers, no single player can dominate alone. The ecosystem rewards agility, and deals like this shift the center of gravity one broadcast at a time.
The 2024 WNBA season enters a pivotal stretch with wider reach than ever before. Thanks to the partnership between Scripps Sports and Ion, and the expanded availability through DirecTV and U-Verse, fans will gain access to additional nationally televised WNBA Friday Night games. As the regular season intensifies, playoff implications start to solidify—and with that, more eyes will turn to these broadcasts, many airing in primetime. Whether following the rising superstars or seasoned MVPs, DirecTV WNBA games and U-Verse WNBA Ion access will deliver compelling matchups to living rooms nationwide.
The current deal creates a blueprint. When traditional sports networks narrow their offerings, new distributors like Scripps Sports step forward. That shift opens the door for enhanced visibility across women’s professional leagues beyond basketball. Similar models could soon emerge for organizations like the NWSL or Athletes Unlimited, bringing more women's sports into primetime slots on widely available platforms. The demand is there. Viewership for the 2023 WNBA season was up 21% year-over-year according to Nielsen; this multi-platform distribution bet aligns directly with that upward trend.
Consumers no longer need to rely on one source to watch WNBA on TV. The evolving broadcast model integrates linear channels like Ion with flexible streaming options, all while preserving high production quality and consistent scheduling. Whether through a traditional cable box, smart TV apps, or digital guides, fans gain more control—especially with the WNBA's Friday night games now listed on multiple delivery services.
Which broadcast option works best for you—DirecTV, U-Verse, or something else? Will Ion’s Friday night games become a new weekly tradition in your household? Scroll down and share your setup in the comments. The WNBA Friday Night game schedule, anchored by a growing network of broadcast partners, is reshaping the women’s sports experience. Your input adds valuable dimension to how these changes are received and interpreted by fans across the country.
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