04/28/25 01:45:00
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04/28 12:00 CDT Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese's return to college for WNBA
preseason games to be shown on national TV
Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese's return to college for WNBA preseason games to be
shown on national TV
By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Basketball Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --- Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese's return to college for WNBA
preseason games will be two of a record four exhibition games shown on national
TV.
Clark will head back to Iowa for an exhibition between her Indiana Fever and
the Brazilian national team on Sunday, a game airing on ESPN. The Fever's
exhibition game against the Washington Mystics a day earlier will be on NBA TV.
Reese will lead the Chicago Sky back to her alma mater, LSU, on Friday to face
the Brazilian team. Sky teammate Kamilla Cardoso played for that Brazilian team
in February 2024, trying to help it qualify for the Paris Olympics. That game
will be part of a doubleheader on ION.
The WNBA will be showing all 15 of its preseason games either on national
television or league pass.
"We've seen the demand for WNBA content grow exponentially and we are meeting
that demand by working with our broadcast partners and our teams to make a
significant investment by making all 15 preseason games available to WNBA
fans," Chief Growth Officer Colie Edison said.
The league showed two exhibition games in 2023 and four last year, including
Clark's debut, which was on league pass. Reese's preseason debut against
Minnesota wasn't televised, but a fan livestreamed it on social media. The
livestream drew significant attention, getting millions of views.
The two rookies last season helped the league draw record-breaking viewership.
ESPN games averaged 1.2 million viewers in the regular season, a 170% increase
from the previous year. The postseason averaged 1.1 million viewers, making it
the league's most-viewed playoffs in 25 years.
The other game that will be nationally televised will be when Dallas plays Las
Vegas at Notre Dame in the first game of the ION doubleheader Friday. Three
former Irish stars --- Dallas' Arike Ogunbowale and Las Vegas' Jewell Loyd and
Jackie Young --- are coming back to campus. The game also will mark the debut
of Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft two weeks ago.
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
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