ATLANTA, May 7, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- In its second season broadcasting WNBA games
on ION, Scripps Sports is adding weekly studio shows to supplement
the State Farm® WNBA Friday Night Spotlight on ION. ION will
air 43 regular-season games, the most of any broadcast partner,
including eight Indiana Fever games with 2024 No. 1 overall draft
pick Caitlin Clark. The first of
those is May 24 against the Los
Angeles Sparks and Cameron Brink,
the No. 2 overall draft pick.
ION is the first broadcast network to air a weekly studio show
for the WNBA. Owned by The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP), ION
is available for free over the air, on cable and through connected
TV platforms.
Viewers can find access to ION in their areas or via
streaming platforms by
visiting https://iontelevision.com/find-us.
Scripps Sports' studio shows will include:
- 30-minute pre-game shows, which will review highlights from the
week's games, spotlight upcoming matchups on ION and feature
in-depth stories from around the league.
- Halftime shows to break down games and provide insights from
the studio host and analysts.
- Wrap-up/preview shows in between games.
The regular season tips off Tuesday, May
14, with the first studio shows and games on ION on
Friday, May 17. The studio show will
start most weeks at 7 p.m. ET.
Other highlights
- On Aug. 30, Clark and the Fever
meet the Chicago Sky, led by the rookie tandem of Angel Reese, a 2023 college national champion,
and Kamilla Cardoso, a 2024 college
national champion.
- Defending champion Las Vegas, led by two-time WNBA MVP A'ja
Wilson and two-time All-Star
Kelsey Plum, will be on ION nine
times, including Sept. 13 against
Clark and 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston.
- Reigning league MVP Breanna Stewart, two-time All-WNBA
Second-Team selection Sabrina
Ionescu and the New York Liberty, who reached the WNBA
Finals in 2023, will be on ION twice (May
31 and Aug. 30).
- Diana Taurasi, the league's
career scoring leader, and Brittney
Griner, a nine-time All-Star, will be on ION seven times
with the Phoenix Mercury, including two games against Clark and the
Fever (July 12, Aug. 16).
- The Connecticut Sun, led by Alyssa
Thomas, who set WNBA records for triple-doubles and
double-doubles last season, will be on ION eight times.
The talent
WNBA on ION Studio Shows will originate from Atlanta. The
team:
- Larry Smith, host – The
award-winning news and sports anchor, host and correspondent is the
lead evening anchor for the No. 1-rated newscast at LEX18 in
Lexington, Kentucky. He spent 16
years at CNN Sports and more than a decade with Turner Sports as host for NBATV's "Gametime"
program and Major League Baseball playoff coverage. Smith has
covered more than 60 world and major championship events during his
career, including 12 Final Fours, seven NBA Finals, six Super Bowls
and four Olympics.
- Autumn Johnson, analyst –
Johnson is the NCAA's lead personality covering women's basketball
and NBA 2K League's studio host. In
2024, she has contributed to ESPN and Big Ten Network. Johnson was
a three-sport athlete growing up playing basketball, softball and
running cross country. In 2023, she created the AJTV Summit and
Scholarship with a goal of mentoring a community of young women in
media while providing resources, learning opportunities and
financial aid.
- Meghan McKeown, analyst –
She is a basketball analyst for the Sun, NBC/Peacock, Big Ten
Network, ESPN and FOX. McKeown has called multiple NCAA women's
tournament games and conference championships. Prior to this
season, she spent four WNBA seasons as the color commentator for
the Sky and also spent time as an analyst for the Indiana Fever.
She played college basketball at Northwestern
University.
- Nicole Denne, executive
producer – She is the senior director of content for Scripps
Sports and executive producer of the studio shows. Previously,
Denne was senior director of national news for Scripps. She is a former executive producer at KNBC
in Los Angeles, and she worked for
NBC Sports at the Torino Winter Olympics.
"We are dedicated to showcasing the players who are driving the
popularity of the WNBA, not just in our game coverage but with the
features we will produce for our studio shows," said Quinn Pacini, vice president of broadcast
operations for Scripps Sports. "There are so many great stories to
tell."
Full ION schedule
Scripps Sports will primarily broadcast Friday night
doubleheaders. The WNBA and Scripps Sports together determine which
games will be aired nationally and which regionally. The games:
May 17: Washington at Connecticut (7:30 p.m.
ET), Seattle at Minnesota (9:30 p.m.
ET)
May 24: Indiana at Los Angeles (10
p.m. ET)
May 31: Las Vegas at Atlanta,
Dallas at Connecticut, Washington
at New York (7:30 p.m.), Phoenix at Minnesota
(9:30 p.m. ET)
June 7: Indiana at Washington
(7:30 p.m. ET), Seattle at Las Vegas, Dallas at Los Angeles, Minnesota at Phoenix
(10 p.m. ET)
June 14: Chicago at Washington,
Los Angeles at Minnesota (7:30 p.m. ET)
June 21: Indiana at Atlanta (7:30
p.m. ET), Connecticut at Las
Vegas (10 p.m. ET)
June 28: Atlanta at Connecticut (7:30 p.m.
ET), Los Angeles at Phoenix
(10 p.m. ET)
July 5: Atlanta at Dallas (7:30 p.m.
ET), Las Vegas at Los Angeles, Chicago at Seattle
(10 p.m. ET)
July 12: Las Vegas at Atlanta,
Phoenix at Indiana (7:30 p.m.
ET), Minnesota at Seattle (10 p.m.
ET)
Aug. 16: Seattle at Atlanta, Phoenix at Indiana
(7:30 p.m. ET), Connecticut at Dallas
(9:30 p.m. ET)
Aug. 23: Phoenix at Atlanta, Chicago at Connecticut,
Los Angeles at Washington (7:30 p.m. ET), Las Vegas at Minnesota (9:30
p.m.)
Aug. 30: Indiana at Chicago,
Minnesota at Dallas (7:30 p.m.
ET), Atlanta at Las Vegas, New York at Seattle (10 p.m.
ET)
Sept. 6: Dallas at Atlanta, Las Vegas at Connecticut, Minnesota
at Indiana (7:30
p.m. ET), Los Angeles at Chicago
(9:30 p.m. ET)
Sept. 13: Washington at Atlanta, Las Vegas at Indiana, Seattle at
Dallas, Chicago at Minnesota
(7:30 p.m. ET), Connecticut at Phoenix
(10 p.m. ET)
Media
contacts:
|
Scripps – Michael
Perry, (513) 259-4718, michael.perry@scripps.com
|
|
WNBA – Ron
Howard, (212) 407-8641,
RHoward@nba.com
|
About Scripps Sports
Scripps Sports serves
professional and college sports leagues, conferences and teams with
local market depth and national broadcast reach of up to 100% of TV
households. Scripps Sports currently has partnerships with the
Women's National Basketball Association, the National Women's
Soccer League, the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup champion
Vegas Golden Knights and NHL's Arizona Coyotes, and the NCAA's Big
Sky Conference in college football. Scripps Sports is a division of
The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP), a Fortune 1000
American media company focused on creating a better-informed
world.
About the WNBA
Tipping off its
28th season in May
2024, 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. For more
information, visit WNBA.com.
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SOURCE The E.W. Scripps Company