2024 WNBA season: How to watch Caitlin Clark’s first Indiana Fever game, plus the full WNBA schedule

The WNBA’s 28th season tips off this Tuesday, May 14, and between the Caitlin Clark Effect and the already fast-growing fanbase, there are likely to be some new fans of women’s basketball tuning in this year. So whether you’re brand new to streaming the sport or you’re a seasoned WNBA fan who simply can’t keep up with the ever-changing list of channels you might need to watch every WNBA game, we’ve got you covered. The 2024 WNBA regular season will see a whopping 149 games air live on national TV or streaming. The catch? Those games will be split across eight channels and streaming platforms: ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, CBS/Paramount+, CBS Sports Network, Amazon Prime Video, Ion, NBA TV — with even more games streaming on WNBA League Pass.

To make sure watching WNBA live streams this season is a slam dunk for you, we’ve broken down every way you can watch WNBA games, including the best subscription to stream the most WNBA games this season, ways to watch games for free, how to watch Caitlin Clark’s next game and more.

How to watch the 2024 WNBA season:

Dates: May 14 – Sept. 19, 2024

TV channel(s): ESPN Network, CBS Network, Ion, NBA TV

Streaming: Amazon Prime Video, WNBA League Pass, Freevee, Fubo, DirecTV, more

When does the 2024 WNBA season start?

After the WNBA preseason concludes on Saturday, May 11, the regular season tips off on Tuesday, May 14 with a nationally broadcast doubleheader: Indiana Fever vs. Connecticut Sun and Phoenix Mercury vs. Las Vegas Aces, tipping off at 7:30 on ESPN2.

2024 WNBA season schedule (May 14-21):

Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Thursday, May 16, 2024

Friday, May 17, 2024

Saturday, May 18, 2024

• Indiana vs. New York: 1 p.m. (ABC)

• Los Angeles vs. Las Vegas: 3 p.m. (ABC)

• Chicago vs. Dallas: 8 p.m. (NBA TV)

• Atlanta vs. Phoenix 10 p.m. (NBA TV)

Sunday, May 19, 2024

Monday, May 20, 2024

• Connecticut vs. Indiana: 7 p.m. (ESPN)

• Seattle vs. New York: 7 p.m. (ESPN3, WNBA League Pass)

Tuesday, May 21, 2024

You can check out the full WNBA season schedule (complete with which channel every game is airing on) here.

What channels do I need to watch WNBA games live this season?

This season, WNBA games will air across the ESPN suite of channels (nine games on ABC, 14 games on ESPN and two on ESPN2), CBS/Paramount+ (eight games), CBS Sports Network (12 games) ION (43 games), NBA TV (40 games) and Prime Video (21 games).

That’s eight channels to keep up with (and nine if you count local games streaming on WNBA League Pass)! Plus, ESPN+ and Disney+ are now getting into the mix, with select WNBA games streaming live on those platforms. Luckily, a large number of games are airing on ION — which you can probably access free through Amazon’s Freevee or another free streaming platform — and Prime Video, which plenty of people already have access to for free with an Amazon Prime membership.

The most consistent ways to watch this WNBA season will be Thursdays on Prime Video, Friday Nights on ION, and weekend games airing across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and CBS Television Network. Looking ahead, ESPN platforms ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 will broadcast every game of the WNBA Playoffs (that’s up to 27 games) including the WNBA Finals. And now, Disney+ has added itself into the mix with the announcement that the streamer will have all of Tuesday’s games streaming live on its platform.

So, what do you actually need to sign up for to watch or stream this entire upcoming WNBA season with ease (without paying a ridiculous amount of money and adding multiple subscriptions to your arsenal)? We’ve got answers for you. Here’s what we recommend for the best ways to watch the WNBA season:

How to watch WNBA live or stream WNBA games in 2024:

(Photo: Fubo)

AT $90/month, Fubo TV’s Elite tier gives you access to ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, CBS, CBS Sports Network, NBA TV, Ion and 200+ more live channels. The live-TV streaming service is definitely one of the priciest options on this list, but it still leaves you with major savings compared to a traditional cable package and will get you access to the most WNBA games you can watch with just one subscription. Fubo subscribers also get 1,000 hours of cloud DVR storage. The platform offers a free trial period.

Try free at Fubo

(Amazon)

It’s Amazon’s fourth season serving as one of the streaming homes for the WNBA. This year, Amazon Prime Video will stream 21 WNBA games free to all Amazon Prime subscribers. 18 of those games will be on Thursday nights. 

On top of Amazon Prime Video, an Amazon Prime subscription includes free shipping, exclusive deals, access to the Prime Day 2024 sale event, Amazon Music, a year of free GrubHub+ and more. A standard Amazon Prime subscription is $15 monthly or $139 annually, but discounts are available for students and those on qualified government assistance. You can try Amazon Prime free for 30 days.

$15/month at Amazon

(Photo: Freevee)

The Ion channel is currently available to stream totally free on Amazon’s free streaming service, Freevee. This ad-supported, totally free streaming platform also offers popular titles like “Mad Men” and the Freevee original “Jury Duty.” Freevee is available through Amazon Prime Video and as its own stand-alone app.

$0 at Amazon

(Disney)

Disney+ has announced it will stream the WNBA season opener games live this Tuesday evening. It’ll be the first time the platform has hosted WNBA games. But considering you can easily bundle Disney+ and ESPN+ together already, live sports makes perfect sense for the platform. 

A basic, ad-supported subscription to the platform starts at $8 per month, or you can go ad-free for $11 per month. You can also bundle ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu for $10 monthly, or get the Disney Bundle Trio Basic, which includes ESPN+, starting at $13 per month.

$8/month at Disney+

When is Caitlin Clark’s first game of the season?

For those getting into the WNBA to watch Caitlin Clark’s rookie season, you won’t need to wait long for the NCAA basketball GOAT to make her WNBA season debut. Clark and the Indiana Fever will play the very first nationally broadcast game of the season this Tuesday, May 14, tipping off at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2— and, for the first time in WNBA history, streaming on Disney+!

How to watch the Indiana Fever’s first game:

• Indiana Fever vs. Connecticut Sun: 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2, ESPN+, Disney+)

How to watch games on ESPN3:

A select few WNBA games will stream on both ESPN3 and WNBA League Pass this season. While you can’t always access ESPN3 directly through a live TV streaming service like Fubo or DirecTV stream, you can watch ESPN3 live on ESPN.com when you login with your TV provider (such as Fubo, DirecTV or Sling, or a traditional cable provider). That being said, only a few games right at the start of the season are scheduled to be on ESPN3 (including two opening night games), while those same games, plus many more, will be streaming live on WNBA League Pass. So if you’re hoping to watch a larger portion of the 2024 WNBA season, League Pass is probably the way to go.

Watch on ESPN

How to watch the WNBA season with WNBA League Pass:

(Photo: WNBA League Pass)

With WNBA League Pass, you can stream out-of-market WNBA games (certain national exclusions and local blackouts apply), get access to full-length and condensed replays of every game, rewatch hundreds of past classic games and use the platform’s live game DVR. WNBA League Pass is only $35 for the season, but you can also buy a pass for a single game for $3 per game, a great option if you only need the service to stream one of your favorite team’s games this season.

$35 for the season at WNBA

More ways to watch the 2024 WNBA season: