It’s a BIG day for Disney+ and sports fans!
©Disney
Disney+ has announced a lot of changes recently. The platform debuted an updated logo, announced it will be part of a new streaming bundle, and teased the addition of a new ESPN tile on the service. But one of the newest changes that I’m MOST excited about is happening tonight at 7:30EST, and if you’ve been following the incredible career of basketball star Caitlin Clark, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
Tonight, Disney+ is streaming the WNBA Opening Night doubleheader for the first time EVER. First, the Indiana Fever (and Caitlin Clark) will take on the Connecticut Sun at 7:30EST. Then, the Phoenix Mercury will face the Las Vegas Aces at 10EST. The games will be available on Disney+, ESPN+, and ESPN2.
©Disney
This is a historic event for a couple of reasons. One, this is the first time ever that Disney+ has streamed WNBA games. Disney+ doesn’t normally stream sports games live, so this is a pretty rare event (though it might not be so rare in the future, as CEO Bob Iger has emphasized the importance of live sports to the company).
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the games will be full, studio productions, not just animated simulations as Disney+ has done in the past with other live sports.
Disney+
Another reason that this is historic is because it’s Caitlin Clark. That’s it. That’s the whole reason. 😂 I’ve been watching Clark play for a couple of years now, and y’all. If you haven’t seen her play, you need to start watching NOW. I lived in Iowa City while my husband attended the University of Iowa for graduate school (that’s where Clark played college ball), so it’s been super fun to see the rest of the country join the hype and support her incredible success.
©NBC
This past season, Clark was the catalyst for record-breaking NCAA women’s basketball viewership. According to NPR, the final game of the season between South Carolina and the University of Iowa averaged 18.7 million viewers and peaked at 24 million. That’s the first time ever that a women’s final had a larger viewership than the men’s. In fact, that was the most-watched basketball game — at any level, men’s or women’s — since 2019.
But that wasn’t even the most exciting game of the season (for Iowa fans, at least!). In the Elite Eight, Iowa played LSU, who beat them last year to take the 2023 championship title. Clark faced LSU’s superstar Angel Reese, who’s a legend in her own right. The exciting game ended in an Iowa victory. Reese has also been drafted to the WNBA and plays for the Chicago Sky.
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Although Clark has played in a preseason game in the WNBA already, the game tonight will be the first she’ll play of the regular season.
Disney CEO Bob Iger talked about the importance of live sports (and mentioned Caitlin Clark by name) in the company’s recent second-quarter earnings call, so we’ll likely see more games streamed on Disney+ in the future!
Stay tuned to DFB for more updates on the latest Disney news.
Click here to learn about the ESPN tile that’s coming to Disney+.
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Are you watching the WNBA opening night games tonight? Let us know in the comments!