In a surprise to no one, UConn Huskies star Paige Bueckers was selected first overall by the Dallas Wings in Monday’s WNBA Draft.
The draft’s telecast on ESPN was the second most-watched in league history, mainly due to Bueckers’ star power. And now, one local Dallas channel will be able to capitalize on the Wings’ new addition.
In February, the Dallas Wings and KFAA agreed to a new media rights agreement to see the network air all team games not designated for national television broadcasts. The NBA’s Dallas Mavericks have a similar deal with the channel.
Luckily for KFAA, many Wings games are not scheduled for national broadcast windows this season. According to Front Office Sports, 28 of their 44 games will air on the local station.
Compared to their peer franchise, the Indiana Fever, which rosters the league’s biggest star, Caitlin Clark, that’s a pretty sizeable chunk of inventory. The Fever will see 41 of their 44 games air on national broadcasts this year as the league tries to capitalize fully on Clark’s stardom.
Per Front Office Sports, the Wings have also inked local broadcast agreements in neighboring markets, including Austin, Houston, and San Antonio.
Increasingly, teams have opted to put their games on local over-the-air broadcast channels to expand reach. With Paige Bueckers immediately entering the WNBA as one of the league’s biggest television draws, KFAA should be able to attract some sizeable audiences this season.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.