ION to broadcast first nationally televised Walter Cup Finals in United States
The PWHL’s marquee event is set to be placed in well over 100 million households.
On Wednesday, the league announced, in partnership with Scripps Sports, that the Walter Cup Finals will be broadcast nationwide in the United States, with the best-of-five series in May carried on ION.
PWHL executive vice president of business operations, Amy Scheer, stated that this is a big moment for the growth of the league.
“The PWHL Walter Cup Finals are built for this kind of stage, and their debut on national television in the U.S. is another meaningful step in making our game easier to find and follow,” Scheer said in a release “Scripps Sports has shown a true commitment to showing up for women’s sports in a tangible way, and this partnership is another example of that in action.”
The announcement comes less than a week after the PWHL and Scripps Sports revealed that ION will be broadcasting the league’s first nationally-televised game in the U.S. on March 28, the Takeover Tour game in Detroit between the Montreal Victoire and New York Sirens.
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 WNBA and NWSL coverage and to broadcast doubleheaders for both leagues on those nights. ION has also created dedicated studio shows for both leagues.
The discussion of having a national TV deal in the U.S. has been a topic of discussion since the PWHL came into existence almost three years ago. While Canada has had deals with TSN, Sportsnet, CBC and RDS, American viewers have been forced to either stream the games on YouTube or watch the games through regional networks scattered throughout the country.
With the finals being broadcast on ION, it seems like the groundwork has been laid for a future permanent deal.
The first two editions of the Walter Cup Finals have ended with the same team lifting the trophy. Minnesota outlasted Boston in a thrilling five-game series in 2024, before the Frost took down the Ottawa Charge in a four-game set that saw every game go to overtime last year.
The PWHL regular season is scheduled to end on April 25, with the Walter Cup Playoffs officially beginning two days later.