Chicago Sky fans eager to get an early glimpse at rookies Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese will get their first opportunity Tuesday night. And after outcry from fans and players, the game will be available to stream.
Tuesday’s game against the New York Liberty at Wintrust Arena will be streamed on the WNBA League Pass, the team confirmed to the Tribune. Announcers Jason Ross Jr. and Shimmy Gray-Miller will call the game.
Preseason broadcast access quickly became a contentious topic for the WNBA on the heels of one of the most highly anticipated draft classes in league history.
After the app incorrectly stated the entire opening slate of preseason games would be available via WNBA League Pass, fans began to take the issue into their own hands. Minnesota Lynx fan Alli Schneider livestreamed the entirety of Friday’s game against the Sky on X, earning more than 250,000 active viewers, including former WNBA star Sue Bird.
Although the livestream offered a shaky view of the game, the lack of access sparked frustration across the league.
“I’m still not over this,” forward Isabelle Harrison wrote on X. “The 2023 & 2024 national champions had their first W game streamed on a cell phone. Some way, some how. My rooks deserved that game to be televised.”
I’m still not over this.
The 2023 & 2024 National Champions had their first W game streamed on a cell phone.
Some way, some how. My rooks deserved that game to be televised.
— Isabelle Harrison (@OMG_itsizzyb) May 5, 2024
Providing livestreams or broadcasts of preseason games is a relatively new venture both for the WNBA and the Sky. While the entire NBA preseason is broadcast through local affiliates and League Pass, the WNBA selected two preseason games to offer in 2023: its annual exhibition game in Canada and the first preseason game of the No. 1 draft pick. There were no preseason games streamed in 2022.
This year the league expanded that broadcast offering to four games, adding another game featuring No. 1 pick Caitlin Clark (Atlanta vs. Indiana on May 9) and a game featuring No. 2 pick Cameron Brink (Los Angeles vs. Phoenix on May 10). But the influx of attention brought in by players like Clark, Brink, Cardoso and Reese stoked a new desire for broadcast accessibility that the league was not prepared to meet – at least in the preseason.
The WNBA will produce the Canada and Fever-Dream games, while the home teams (Wings and Mercury) will produce the two others.
The Sky will kick off the regular season on the road against the Dallas Wings on May 15.
