The 2025 WNBA season is shaping up to be one of the most exciting yet, following a record-breaking 2024 season that set new viewership milestones. With a strong commitment to growing the league and showcasing the biggest stars, this year’s schedule was meticulously crafted to maximize exposure and fan engagement.
Matt Kenny, ESPN VP, Programming & Acquisitions, dives into the key decisions, emerging storylines and exciting new elements that make up the 2025 WNBA broadcast schedule.
The 2024 WNBA season shattered viewership records. How did that success shape your approach to programming the 2025 schedule?
First, we are incredibly proud and appreciative of all the hard work and collaboration across the organization to support the growth of the WNBA, women’s basketball and women’s sports as a whole. We have a wonderful relationship with our partners at the WNBA and I would like to recognize two members of the ESPN league programming and acquisitions team, Johanna Goldblatt and Gabby Davis, for their incredible work in building a schedule that we can all be very proud of!
We set a high bar last season, and it’s our goal to continue that momentum and drive further viewership gains in the 2025 season. As we began approaching the 2025 schedule build, we wanted to make every game feel big for the fan watching at home. Thankfully, there is no shortage of compelling storylines as we enter the season.
The league continues to expand its reach—what factors are most important when determining which matchups get marquee slots on ESPN platforms?
We are storytellers at heart and our goal is better serve sports fans each and every day. We always keep a pulse on what WNBA fans want to see and take that into consideration when building the schedule. For the 2025 WNBA schedule, here are key factors that drove our decisions:
1. Highlight the best teams from 2024 and showcase teams that made big offseason moves:
- New York Liberty – 2024 champions
- Minnesota Lynx – 2024 runners-up
- Atlanta Dream – added Britney Griner, Brionna Jones
- Phoenix Mercury – added Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally
- Indiana Fever – added DeWanna Bonner
- L.A. Sparks – added Kelsey Plum
2. Showcase the big rivalries:
- Chicago vs. Indiana (5/17 on ABC, 7/27 on ABC)
- Minnesota vs. New York (7/30 on ESPN, 8/10 on ABC) – 2024 WNBA Finals Rematch
- Las Vegas vs. New York (7/8 on ESPN, 8/13 on ESPN)
3. Spotlighting the young stars who made a splash in Women’s CBB:
- L.A. Sparks – Cameron Brink, Rickea Jackson
- Indiana Fever – Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston
- Chicago Sky – Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso
- Dallas Wings – #1 overall pick
Why is now such an opportune time to announce the 2025 WNBA Schedule?
Women’s basketball is experiencing meteoric growth. March Madness is here and the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament serves as a natural springboard to the WNBA season. The timing of the WNBA schedule release couldn’t be better with all the passion, energy and enthusiasm for the tournament, which will showcase the future stars of the WNBA!
The 2024 season included strategic scheduling decisions, like capitalizing on Angel Reese’s debut with Chicago. Are there any similar emerging storylines you’re keeping in mind for 2025?
We’ll keep a close eye on the WNBA Draft. As we saw with Chicago selecting Angel Reese, moves can be made in the hours leading up that may drive us to adjust the schedule. We’ll continue to be ambitious in optimizing the schedule as the regular season begins. If a team overperforms, we’ll find ways to highlight that story. We are laser-focused on making the 2025 WNBA season on ESPN platforms the best year ever in our proud and rich history with the league. We are excited for what’s ahead.
