DISNEY and ESPN have announced a major change to the broadcast that will feature Caitlin Clark.
The global media company’s broadcast move will involve 2024 WNBA No. 1 overall pick Clark, who has put together arguably one of the best women’s college basketball careers of all time.
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Iowa Hawkeyes star Clark became the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer in January.
She was one of the main reasons why the 2023-24 March Madness destroyed the viewership of any previous tournament.
The NCAA championship involving Clark reached a near-record 18.9 million people.
With Clark taking her services to the WNBA, TV networks shifted their attention to making sure viewers watched the 22-year-old and the Indiana Fever.
Read more about Caitlin Clark
Clark’s regular season debut will come next Tuesday when the Fever face the Connecticut Sun.
The match will be available on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
And Clark’s game will also be shown on Disney+, the company announced.
The streaming platform will then show the Phoenix Mercury facing the Las Vegas Ace.
Disney+ generally doesn’t dive into the live sports business.
But Disney has done numerous experimental broadcasts with the NFL and NHL.
The instances used technology to broadcast the games live, but used animated characters instead of real-life athletes.
It was revealed that the WNBA games will be a full studio production rather than the previous animated simulcasts.
Clark played in every preseason game and will make his regular season debut next week.
Disney CEO Bog Iger revealed on Tuesday that the company will add an ESPN block to Disney+ in late 2024.
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Subscribers to the streaming platform will be able to watch live games available for free, as well as access to ESPN+ content.
“We see this as a first step toward bringing ESPN to Disney+ viewers as we prepare to launch our enhanced standalone ESPN streaming in fall 2025,” Iger, 73, said Tuesday on the second-quarter earnings call from Disney.
Caitlin Clark Fever
CAITLIN Clark’s impact was felt throughout the WNBA before she was even drafted.
The college superstar from Iowa went No. 1 overall to the Indiana Fever, a surprise to absolutely no one.
The Indiana Fever had 36 of their 40 games in the 2024 season scheduled for national TV – up from 22 last year.
Teams also moved their games against the Fever to larger arenas to meet extra ticket demand.
Clark helped the NCAA attract 18.9 million viewers to the women’s championship game, more than the 14.8 million who watched the men’s championship game.
She has also signed a contract with Nike worth more than $20 million.
Viewers will have other ways to see Clark if they don’t have Disney+.
Clark’s Fever has 36 of its 40 games on the 2024 season schedule for national TV.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
