The 2025 WNBA season will get underway on Friday, May 16, with three games on ION, which, like Scripps News, is also owned by the E.W. Scripps Company.
Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier and the Minnesota Lynx will take on this year's No. 1 overall draft pick Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings at 7:30 p.m. ET. At the same time, Brittney Griner and the Atlanta Dream will visit Brittney Sykes and the Washington Mystics.
Then at 10 p.m. ET, the inaugural season for the Golden State Valkyries gets underway against Cameron Brink and the Los Angeles Sparks.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | WNBA regular season viewership surged with help of star-studded rookie class
The action continues Saturday with a doubleheader on ABC when three-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces visit two-time MVP Breanna Stewart and the defending champion New York Liberty at 1 p.m. ET. In the second game, two second-year stars will clash when Caitlin Clark and her Indiana Fever host Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky at 3 p.m. ET.
The WNBA is coming off a record-breaking season in which it saw remarkable growth in viewership across all platforms. ION, which aired 43 regular-season games, said viewership was up more than 100% in 2024, attracting more than 23 million unique viewers "across games and wrap shows."
The historic ratings, however, weren't limited to ION. ESPN also reported triple-digit ratings growth, saying 2024 was the most-viewed WNBA regular season across its platforms.
"We’ve been able to showcase great basketball with a broader audience, deepening the connection between the league, the players and our growing fanbase while delivering record-breaking viewership numbers," WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement.
RELATED STORY | Caitlin Clark is Time's Athlete of the Year
Scripps Sports will, for a third season, broadcast WNBA games on Ion as part of its State Farm WNBA Friday Night Spotlight series. ION is one of the most-watched networks on television and is available on pay TV, connected TV, free ad-supported streaming platforms and over-the-air in more than 128 million homes.
“We’re proud to be the home for women’s sports and lead the way in the number of regular season WNBA games on television due to our nationwide multiplatform audience reach,” Scripps Sports President Brian Lawlor said in a statement. “From new franchises entering the mix to the establishment and continuation of rivalries, there is a lot of buzz around the WNBA right now, and we are thrilled to have the chance to capture that energy through our coverage.”
