WNBA announces 2022 broadcast and streaming schedule for CBS, NBA TV, Prime Video and Facebook Watch
NEW YORK – The WNBA today announced the schedule of games to be broadcast and streamed nationally on the CBS Television Network, NBA TV, CBS Sports Network, Prime Video and Facebook Watch during the 2022 regular season, set to tip off on Friday, May 6.
The television and streaming schedule for the league’s 26th season includes a combined 123 games across CBS Television Network and CBS Sports Network (40 games), NBA TV (46) Prime Video (17) and Facebook Watch (20). Coupled with the 25 national broadcasts across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 announced earlier this month, a total of 147 games will be broadcast and streamed live from opening day through the conclusion of the regular season on Sunday, Aug. 14. In addition, Google, a WNBA Changemaker and Presenting Partner of the WNBA Playoffs, and Disney Networks will collaborate to broadcast every game of the league’s expanded postseason, up to a possible record-high 27 games.
The current national television schedule and games to be streamed on Prime Video and Facebook Watch can be found here.
“Our continued goal is to deliver as many WNBA games and as much content to our passionate fans and supporters across platforms that best match the evolution of content consumption,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “Providing significant opportunities to view WNBA games across traditional as well as streaming platforms drives additional coverage to our growing fan base. From tip-off weekend in May through our expanded postseason in August and September, our broadcast and streaming partners are continuing to offer an enormous national platform for WNBA players and fans. And we’re not done; we will continue to look for innovative and creative ways to shape the future landscape of media consumption and the WNBA fan experience.”
CBS Sports, which has added the streaming of games on Paramount+ this season, returns for its fourth year of WNBA coverage featuring a clash of East Coast rivals meeting on the CBS Television Network on Sunday, June 19 (2 p.m. ET) when the Washington Mystics, who have the No. 1 overall pick in this month’s WNBA Draft 2022 presented by State Farm®, host the Connecticut Sun with reigning Kia WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones and fellow 2021 All-Stars DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones. CBSSN tips off its schedule on Saturday, May 7 (8 p.m. ET), when the Dallas Wings, led by 2021 AT&T WNBA All Star Game MVP and 2020 WNBA scoring leader Arike Ogunbowale, host the Atlanta Dream, which has the No. 3 selection in the WNBA Draft 2022 presented by State Farm.
Marking its 20th consecutive year of WNBA coverage, NBA TV will tip off the league’s national television schedule with a Friday May 6 opening night doubleheader starting with Candace Parker, a two-time Kia WNBA MVP, Kahleah Copper, the reigning MVP of the WNBA Finals presented by YouTube TV, and the defending champion Chicago Sky hosting the Los Angeles Sparks (8 p.m. ET), whose revamped roster merges newly acquired Liz Cambage, a two-time All-WNBA Team selection, with 2016 Kia WNBA MVP Nneka Ogwumike. The second game of NBA TV’s 46-game schedule features the Las Vegas Aces, under the direction of new head coach Becky Hammon and led by 2020 Kia WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, visiting the Phoenix Mercury (10 p.m. ET), whose lineup includes WNBA all-time leading scorer Diana Taurasi and free-agent signee and 2021 WNBA scoring champion Tina Charles.
Year two of the Commissioner’s Cup presented by Coinbase – an in-season competition that designates a portion of regular-season conference games in the first half of the season (10 per team) as “Commissioner’s Cup games” – once again delivers added incentive, with a half million dollars on the line for players, and offering fans enhanced conference rivalry competition through which to support their favorite teams.
Prime Video, in the second season of its partnership with the WNBA, will stream 16 regular-season games exclusively, beginning on Sunday, May 8 (3 p.m. ET), when the Sparks visit the Indiana Fever, which has four top-10 picks in the WNBA Draft 2022 presented by State Farm. On Tuesday, July 26, Prime Video delivers exclusive live coverage of the Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game presented by Coinbase and associate partners Deloitte, Google, LegalZoom and U.S. Bank. In advance of that game, Prime Video streams nine of the Commissioner’s Cup presented by Coinbase, more than any other platform.
Facebook, now in its third straight year streaming WNBA games, offers 20 games via Facebook Watch. Facebook tips off its schedule on opening night, Friday, May 6, when Washington hosts Indiana (7 p.m. ET) in a matchup expected to showcase top young talent as those teams are set to play a prominent role in the upcoming WNBA Draft presented by State Farm.
A redesigned WNBA League Pass also is on tap for launch this season, offering over 130 games.
The 2022 regular season features a record-high 36 games per team, providing fans greater opportunities to see the best players in the world compete at the highest level. The full WNBA schedule can be found here.
Highlights of the CBS Sports Network Schedule
Following an offseason of unprecedented movement, CBSSN presents some of the most anticipated action when stars and head coaches face their former teams:
• Stefanie Dolson, who helped the Sky win a championship last season, returns to Chicago for the first time as a member of the New York Liberty on Wednesday, May 11 (8 p.m. ET).
• Chennedy Carter, an All-Rookie Team selection in 2020 with the Dream, returns to Atlanta as a member of the Sparks on Friday, Aug. 5 (7:30 p.m. ET).
• The Mercury, under new Head Coach Vanessa Nygaard, visit Las Vegas, where Nygaard was an assistant in 2021, on Tuesday, May 17 (10 p.m. ET). Liberty Head Coach Sandy Brondello, who guided the Mercury to the 2014 championship and to the 2021 WNBA Finals presented by YouTube TV, will host her former team on Sunday, July 31 (2 p.m. ET). New Atlanta Head Coach Tanisha Wright takes the Dream into Las Vegas on Tuesday, Aug. 9 (10 p.m. ET) to face the Aces, for whom Wright served as an assistant coach the past two seasons.
Playoff rematches are also in store:
• The Aces and Mercury, who battled in an epic, five-game semifinals series a year ago, square off in Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 17 (10 p.m. ET).
• Defending champion Chicago hosts its opponents from the first and second round of the 2021 WNBA Playoffs presented by Google – the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday, June 26 (6 p.m. ET) and Dallas on Friday, July 22 (8 p.m. ET).
Highlights of the NBA TV Telecast Schedule
• NBA TV’s 46-game schedule is the largest for any platform. It is placing a particular focus on the race to the playoffs, delivering 33 games – more than any other network – following the 2022 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game on July 10.
• Fourteen years after they were the No. 1 and No. 2 overall picks in the 2008 Draft, respectively, the Sky’s Parker and Lynx’s Sylvia Fowles, a pair of former Kia WNBA MVPs and two-time league champions, will meet in Minnesota on Saturday, May 14 (8 p.m. ET).
• Two teams with three 2021 All-Stars on their respective rosters – Las Vegas with Chelsea Gray, Dearica Hamby and Wilson, and Chicago with Copper, Parker and Courtney Vandersloot – will be featured most often. Las Vegas will appear on NBA TV 11 times and Chicago 10 times. Connecticut, Indiana, Minnesota, Phoenix and the Seattle Storm are each on the schedule eight times.
• A combination of Seattle’s Sue Bird, Minnesota’s Fowles and Phoenix’s Taurasi, the league’s career leaders in assists, rebounds and points, respectively, are featured in four head-to-head matchups. Taurasi and fellow 2021 All-Stars Charles and Skylar Diggins-Smith welcome Fowles and the Lynx to Phoenix on Tuesday, June 21 (10 p.m. ET). Bird and fellow 2021 All-Stars Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart lead Seattle into Phoenix on Friday, July 22 (10 p.m. ET) and host the Lynx on Wednesday, Aug. 3 (10 p.m. ET). Seattle also visits Minnesota on Friday, Aug. 12 (8 p.m. ET) in the last regular-season matchup between the teams.
• Former Aces stars Liz Cambage and Angel McCoughtry, who joined Los Angeles and Minnesota, respectively, as free agents this winter, are featured in games against their former team. Cambage and the Sparks host the Aces on Monday, June 27 (10:30 p.m. ET) and visit Las Vegas on Saturday, July 23 (10 p.m. ET). McCoughtry and the Lynx welcome the Aces to Minnesota on Friday, July 1 (8 p.m. ET).
• The New York Liberty, led by 2021 All-Star Betnijah Laney and 2021 Kia WNBA Rookie of the Year Michaela Onyenwere, are featured on NBA TV six times, all coming after the All-Star break as teams jockey for playoff positioning.
Highlights of Prime Video Streaming Schedule
• The WNBA on Prime Video is available across hundreds of compatible devices worldwide as part of a Prime membership (excluding China, Japan, the United Kingdom and Italy). Prime Video games are distributed in the participating teams’ markets through the teams’ local broadcast partners.
• In addition to Prime Video’s presentation of the Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game presented by Coinbase and associate partners Deloitte, Google, LegalZoom and U.S. Bank, Prime Video will offer a 16-game slate of regular-season games, including a nine-game stretch of intraconference games counting toward the Commissioner’s Cup standings. All 12 WNBA teams are highlighted across the nine-game slate, beginning with a matchup between the Mercury and Storm in Phoenix on Wednesday, May 11 (10 p.m. ET).
• Three of Los Angeles’ 10 “Cup games” are front and center as the Sparks host the Mercury on Wednesday, May 25 (10:30 p.m. ET), and visit Minnesota on Sunday, May 29 (7 p.m. ET) and Dallas on Sunday, June 19 (4 p.m. ET).
• Atlanta, Los Angeles and Minnesota will appear four times each on Prime Video.
Highlights of Facebook Watch
• Twenty games will be available on Facebook Watch via the WNBA Facebook page. The broadcasts will feature interactive elements that take advantage of the Facebook Watch social video platform.
• These same games will be available in 2D through Horizon Venues on Meta Quest headsets (both Quest and Quest 2).
• A leading virtual reality headset, Meta Quest is an Official Marketing Partner of the WNBA and an associate partner of the WNBA’s Believe in Women platform.
• Washington and Los Angeles make six appearances each on Facebook Watch.
• Facebook will wrap up its coverage on Friday, Aug. 21, when Washington plays at Indiana (7 p.m. ET).
About the WNBA
Tipping off its 26th season in May 2022, the WNBA is a bold, progressive basketball league that stands for the power of women. Featuring 12 teams, the W is a unique sports property that combines competition and entertainment with a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and social responsibility. Through its world-class athletes, the in-game fan experience, TV and digital broadcasts, digital and social content and community outreach programs, the league celebrates and elevates the game of basketball and the culture around it.
In 2020, the WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) signed a groundbreaking eight-year CBA that charts a new course for women’s basketball – and women’s sports overall – with a focus on increased player compensation, improvements to the player experience, expanded career development opportunities and resources specifically tailored to the female professional athlete. Key elements of the agreement are supported through the league’s partnership platform, WNBA Changemakers, with AT&T, the WNBA’s Marquee Partner and inaugural Changemaker, as well as fellow inaugural Changemakers Deloitte and NIKE, Inc, and subsequent additions Google and U.S. Bank. During the 2020 season, the WNBA and WNBPA launched the WNBA Justice Movement forming the Social Justice Council with the mission of being a driving force of necessary change and continuing conversations about race and voting rights, among other important societal issues.
For more information, visit WNBA.com.