ION to broadcast first nationally televised PWHL game in United States
Women’s hockey fans will finally have a chance to watch the best professional league on a grand scale south of the border.
On Thursday, the PWHL announced that the Takeover Tour game on March 28 in Detroit, featuring the Montreal Victoire and New York Sirens, will be the league’s first nationally-televised game in the United States.
With the partnership between Ally Financial and Scrips Sports, ION will carry the broadcast coast to coast, marking a significant moment for one of the fastest-growing leagues in the world. Puck drop is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
ION and Scripps Sports have become known as a network synonymous with women’s sports. The network was the first to create dedicated nights for coverage of the WNBA and NWSL, and to broadcast doubleheaders for both leagues on those nights. ION has also created dedicated studio shows for both leagues. It wasn’t revealed whether the network would hold its own studio show for the Takeover Tour game, or if it would simply carry the PWHL feed that fans have grown accustomed to in both the U.S. and Canada.
The idea of having a national TV in America has been a topic of discussion since the league came into existence almost three years ago. While Canada has had deals with TSN, Sportsnet, CBC and RDS, U.S. viewers have been forced to either stream the games on YouTube or watch the games through regional networks scattered throughout the country.
Viewers on TV and inside Little Caesars Arena will be treated to an entertaining matchup between two playoff hopefuls, with heavy amounts of star power on both sides. Kristyna Kaltounkova and Sarah Filler will lead the Sirens against Marie-Philip Pouin and Ann-Renee Desbiens of the Victoire.
This won’t be the first time New York has played in Hockeytown. Fillier and company put together a strong 4-1 win over the eventual Walter Cup champion Minnesota Frost last March. March 28 will mark the fourth time the PWHL has come to Detroit, and the second time this season, as the Boston Fleet fell to the Vancouver Goldeneyes back on Jan. 3. The Motor City has been rumored to be one of the markets the league is looking to expand to next season.
In what has become a relative tradition, the game in Detroit will be one of the last contests played before the PWHL Trade Deadline, which is scheduled for Monday, March 30.
The game in Detroit will still be carried by MSG, the home of the Sirens hockey since the league’s inception. CBC and Radio-Canada will broadcast the game in Canada.