Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (number 22) poses with Atlanta Dream guard Caitlin Clark (number 22) during a WNBA preseason game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on May 9, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He goes to the basket against Destani Henderson (uniform number 33).
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The Women’s National Basketball Association regular season begins Tuesday night with breakout star Caitlin Clark making her debut as point guard for the Indiana Fever. The game will be streamed on Disney+ and will be the service’s first live sports event.
As the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer in men’s and women’s basketball, Clark helped draw a record 18.9 million viewers to last month’s Women’s March Madness National Championship game. The former Iowa State star was drafted No. 1 overall on April 15, and that alone drew 2.45 million viewers, 307% more than the league’s previous record for a draft pick.
Disney+ will stream the Phoenix Mercury vs. Las Vegas Aces game following Clark’s debut against the Connecticut Sun at 7:30 p.m. ET. Disney+ has previously streamed animated simulcasts of sporting events using cartoon characters in place of athletes, but Tuesday’s doubleheader marks the first time the platform will stream live sports games. Become.
disney The company reported last week that its streaming division was close to profitability for the first time in its fiscal second quarter. The entertainment giant is increasingly relying on sports streaming to drive viewership.
Disney’s ESPN plans to launch a complete direct-to-consumer streaming product in fall 2025 that will allow consumers to subscribe to ESPN without cable.
We are also partnering with warner bros discovery and fox company. The companies announced in February that the sports streaming service was scheduled to launch this fall.
Exclusive television rights for NBA games between Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are currently in negotiation.
The WNBA’s existing media rights agreement expires in 2025. The deal is reportedly worth about $60 million, and WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said she expects that amount to double once the rights are renegotiated.
Patrick Risch, director of the Sports Business Program at the University of Washington Olin School of Business, said Tuesday’s WNBA debut could be a “watershed moment for the league,” and the choice to have the game on Disney+ He said that it will be extremely important for the “key” of the future. Family and Youth Demographics.”
“They crave young fans, and this is how young fans look at sports these days, and that’s through streaming,” Richet said Tuesday on CNBC’s “Worldwide Exchange.”
“There are some parallels between Caitlin Clark’s potential and her power in terms of expanding the influence of the WNBA and Lionel Messi and all the people and what’s going on. I’m sure there is.” apple TV,” Riesch added, referring to the soccer superstar’s 10-year deal with Major League Soccer and the league’s streaming deal with Apple TV.
