PWHL Announces Broadcast and Streaming Details, With Perhaps More to Come

This afternoon, the PWHL finally announced its broadcasting details, less than three days ahead of puck drop on its inaugural season. Of note, every single PWHL game will be either broadcast or available for streaming in Canada, with duties split between CBC, TSN, and Sportsnet for both linear TV and streaming.

PWHL New York will have its games aired on MSG Networks, a regional sports network covering northern/central New Jersey, southwestern Connecticut, and northeastern Pennsylvania. PWHL Boston will have its games broadcast via NESN, which covers all of New England except Fairfield County, Connecticut. Out-of-market stations may also carry games on a case-by-case basis – for example, SportsNet Pittsburgh will air the season opener alongside NESN and MSG even though the game does not include a team from any of those markets. (NESN operates SportsNet Pittsburgh in partnership with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Pittsburgh Pirates, the former of which is owned by Fenway Sports Group, which has an 80% ownership stake in NESN.)

PWHL Montreal's games will also have a broadcast in French, available on either RDS or Radio-Canada.

Notably, there is as of yet no national partner in the United States for PWHL games, but the PWHL's press release indicates that further broadcasting partnerships may be announced during the regular season. A national deal in the States is purportedly in the works, per The Messenger's Alex Azzi.

While not officially announced, a post from @PWHLReport on Twitter (aka "X") shows an apparent screenshot of a broadcasting schedule for PWHL Minnesota from Bally Sports, indicating that PWHL Minnesota games will be carried on their either Bally Sports North (BSN) or Bally Sports North Extra (BSNX), an "overflow" channel for the broadcaster. Bally Sports North provides sports broadcasting in the Upper Midwest region of the United States, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

The BSN and BSNX schedules for the time slots of PWHL Minnesota games, such as January 3 at 7:00 PM Eastern for the team's first game of the season in Boston, show as "To Be Announced." The Minnesota home opener on January 6, listed above as appearing on BSN, also has a "TBA" slot for 30 minutes before the game is scheduled to begin, which likely indicates a pregame show.

Outside of Canada, including in the United States, every PWHL game will be available to stream for free on the League's YouTube channel.

While the information released today is incomplete, there's a lot to like about the fact that the PWHL has ensured availability of its broadcast beyond regional markets in the United States as well as national availability in Canada, including dedicated French-language coverage.

The full official broadcast and streaming schedule as of right now is available at the PWHL's website.

Stay tuned for our PWHL season preview, where our staff will take a look at what to expect from each team, ahead of the new year and a new era in pro women's hockey.