The PWHL, in its fourth season of expansion, has secured its inaugural season-long U.S. national broadcast agreement with Scripps Sports, as announced by the women’s hockey league. This partnership follows Scripps’ previous coverage of select regular-season games and the entire Walter Cup Finals playoff series last season, extending the reach of PWHL games to over 128 million households in the U.S. through airing on ION, Scripps’ national sports and entertainment network.
Under the agreement, Scripps will produce and broadcast a featured game every Saturday on ION, available on various platforms such as over-the-air, connected TV, streaming services, and pay television. Additionally, the Scripps Sports Network will showcase two national games weekly on multiple streaming platforms like Roku, Prime Video, Fire TV, Google TV Freeplay, and Tubi.
As part of the deal, Scripps affiliates in Detroit and Las Vegas will hold the local broadcasting rights for the two new expansion teams. Amy Scheer, PWHL’s executive vice-president of business operations, expressed excitement about the league’s enhanced national TV presence in the U.S., marking a significant milestone in its growth trajectory.
While the official schedule is yet to be released, the PWHL anticipates commencing its season in late November. The league will continue to live stream all its games on its YouTube channel globally, except in Canada where it has existing broadcast partnerships, including CBC Sports.
The collaboration between PWHL and Scripps blossomed during a meeting in Milan amidst the Winter Games in February, leveraging the momentum of women’s hockey following the U.S. women’s team’s Olympic gold medal victory against Canada. The PWHL, which has expanded to 12 teams by adding four new franchises, including teams in San Jose, California, and Hamilton, Ontario, now comprises seven U.S. and five Canadian teams.
Scripps further boosts its portfolio of women’s sports properties with existing broadcast agreements covering the WNBA, NWSL, and the new Women’s TMRW Golf League. Brian Lawlor, Scripps Sports president, highlighted the partnership as a testament to ION’s standing as a prime platform for women’s sports, providing athletes with a prominent stage to showcase their skills and fans with an avenue to support their favorite teams.
Alongside the PWHL deal, Scripps’ affiliates hold broadcasting rights for various sports entities, including NHL teams such as Florida and Las Vegas, the NBA’s Detroit Pistons, and the NCAA’s Big Sky Conference.
