ESPN reclaims Sunday primetime, elevating WNBA and NWSL matchups. A landmark commitment to women's sports in a coveted broadcast window.
For the first time in more than three decades, ESPN is reshaping its summer Sunday night identity. According to Variety, the network will replace its long-running Major League Baseball showcase with a new primetime property centered on women’s sports, featuring top matchups from the WNBA and the NWSL.
The initiative, titled “Women’s Sports Sundays,” marks one of the most aggressive programming commitments to women’s professional leagues by a major U.S. broadcaster.
Rather than positioning women’s games as supplementary content, ESPN is installing them in one of television’s most valuable real estate windows: Sunday primetime.
The move follows ESPN’s decision to exit its traditional Sunday night MLB package, which had served as a summer staple for 35 years. With that opening, executives identified what they describe as a strategic opportunity, not merely to fill a slot, but to build a recurring franchise around women’s sports during peak summer months.
Executives have been clear that this is not a trial run. The company plans a nine-week slate of primetime broadcasts supported by studio programming and cross-platform promotion. ESPN leadership has emphasized intentional scheduling, arguing that consistent placement is central to long-term audience growth.
However, the timing aligns with measurable momentum in women’s sports viewership. Recent WNBA seasons have delivered some of the league’s strongest regular-season ratings in network history, including multiple games surpassing the one-million viewer mark. The NWSL has also seen steady gains, particularly in championship windows and nationally televised matchups.
Additionally, advertising strategy has evolved alongside audience growth. Disney executives have previously highlighted women’s sports as one of the fastest-growing segments in the sports marketplace, with major brands committing larger shares of their budgets. Dedicated ad initiatives and marketplace guarantees have reinforced the network’s broader investment strategy.
More importantly, this move reframes women’s professional leagues within a mainstream broadcast model long reserved for men’s sports. For decades, consistent primetime scheduling has been a foundational growth driver for properties like the NFL and NBA. By creating a habitual Sunday destination for women’s competition, ESPN is attempting to replicate that ecosystem.
There are external variables, however. The WNBA’s ongoing collective bargaining negotiations could influence scheduling stability if talks were to stall. A potential labor disruption would complicate summer programming plans.
Still, the decision to allocate premium primetime space signals confidence in both the league’s trajectory and its commercial viability.
That said, ESPN's bold move with the “Women’s Sports Sundays” comes at an interesting time for the WNBA. While the pathway ahead looks bleak as ever, networks pushing for more coverage of the game would only help the players take the coming season more seriously.