For Women's Hockey Fans, The League's First U.s. Broadcast Is A Watershed Moment

Growing up, Kate Hoos was told girls don’t play hockey.

“If you tin find a girls team, we’ll fto you play,” she recalled being told. But location was nary girls squad astatine nan clip — and it wouldn’t beryllium until a decade later, astatine property 20, that she learned to skate.

Now 44 and caller disconnected a title pinch her recreational team successful New York City, she’ll beryllium watching Saturday arsenic nan Professional Women’s Hockey League has its first nationally broadcast crippled successful nan U.S.

The New York Sirens will look nan Montréal Victoire (1 p.m. ET, ION) astatine Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena arsenic portion of nan league’s Takeover Tour featuring regular-season games played successful cities without franchises to summation exposure.

For PWHL fans, nan broadcast is simply a watershed infinitesimal that reflects their long-held truth: Women’s lucky deserves nationalist attention.

“This is nan world that I knew would exist,” said Hoos, whose fandom stretches backmost to nan U.S. women’s winning golden astatine nan 1998 Winter Olympics.

“Everybody backmost past told maine I was crazy. It’ll ne'er happen. It’ll ne'er make money. No 1 will ever care. There won’t beryllium capable players. Every excuse nether nan sun,” she added. “And it took a while. It was a agelong and it was a thorny road, but now I consciousness that we’re yet emerging into nan world that I knew would exist.”

Interest successful women’s lucky skyrocketed astatine nan 2026 Winter Olympics. The golden badge last betwixt Team USA and Canada became nan most-watched women’s lucky crippled connected record, amassing 5.3 cardinal viewers crossed USA Network and Peacock.

The first 3 PWHL games aft nan Olympic break were sold out, including 1 successful Seattle that had a grounds turnout of 17,355. And upcoming games astatine Madison Square Garden successful New York connected April 4 and Boston’s TD Garden connected April 11 are besides sold out.

The broadcast “represents each nan maturation that we’re seeing successful women’s lucky correct now,” said Jackie Johnston, a contented creator known arsenic “Coach Jackie” to her much than 1 cardinal societal media followers. “It’s ever awesome for that to beryllium recognized by broadcasters who deliberation and cognize that if they want to make money and they want to beryllium successful successful their business that women’s sports is nan spot to beryllium correct now.”

The PWHL, which began successful 2024, has broadcast partners successful Canada but has yet to unafraid a full-time nationalist TV woody successful nan U.S. Games are disposable connected its YouTube transmission for free and connected immoderate section channels. Now, ION will bring this weekend’s lucifer to much than 126 cardinal households nationwide.

Rachel Donner, co-host of “At Even Strength,” a women’s lucky podcast, described her guidance to nan broadcast arsenic a operation of excitement and “finally.”

“The group that emotion it activity it retired connected YouTube aliases done societal media,” she said. “But if it’s conscionable connected nan grid and group are searching and they tin spot it there, that will bring caller fans to nan game.”

The timing of nan Olympics midseason provides money and visibility that let nan convention to capitalize connected nan surge successful interest. Fans tin travel players from nan world tourney to nan master league, a “natural onboarding” that helps nan PWHL grow, Donner said. Sixty-one PWHL players from 8 countries competed astatine nan Milan Cortina Games, returning pinch 41 medals.

Ava Wood, a contented creator and newsletter writer whose marque 365HockeyGirl has much than 50,000 followers crossed societal media, called nan national broadcast announcement a “relief.” After a history of instability successful women’s master hockey, it brings salience to an eight-team convention conscionable 3 seasons old, she said, assuaging her nagging worries that nan PWHL could fold.

“That signals to maine nan PWHL will beryllium present to enactment and it’ll really beryllium sustainable,” she said.

Wood said her TikTok pursuing astir doubled aft nan Olympics, and she’s besides hopeful that Saturday’s broadcast will thief usher successful a caller activity of support for nan league.

“There are truthful galore group that are going to go PWHL fans erstwhile they conscionable spot it,” she said.

But arsenic excitement builds, truthful do concerns astir whether American broadcasters will represent female athletes’ stories pinch respect and authenticity. How nan crippled is aired will person implications for nan measurement audiences comprehend nan sport.

Some fans criticized nan commentary during women’s lucky games astatine nan Olympics for centering antheral voices — whether it beryllium tying players backmost to their husbands’ accomplishments aliases one instance erstwhile an question and reply pinch nan NHL’s Brady Tkachuk was aired complete women’s gameplay.

Wood said she’d for illustration to spot broadcast partners beryllium intentional astir elevating female commentators, dedicating clip to a pre- and a post-game show aliases moreover having a PWHL rules master beryllium afloat inclusive and accessible to fans astatine each levels.

“There is still this culture, perhaps, to person to seemingly validate women’s lucky done nan antheral gaze,” said Erica L. Ayala, laminitis of Black Rosie Media and co-host of “At Even Strength.”

Ayala, a seasoned sports broadcaster who called much than 100 games pinch nan Premier Hockey Federation, is optimistic that ION will meet nan infinitesimal pinch care, fixed its way grounds pinch different women’s sports, specified arsenic nan WNBA and nan National Women’s Soccer League.

“I’ve been very impressed pinch [ION’s] level of committedness to bring connected and prosecute caller WNBA fans while besides being capable to genuinely clasp OG fans,” Ayala said.

Ultimately, nan broadcast is different facet of nan PWHL’s maturation — 1 that brings visibility to nan talent supporters cognize has existed for years. The adjacent measurement is seeing nan players get rewarded, Ayala said.

“Women’s lucky deserves overmuch much than a flash successful nan pan,” she said. “I don’t cognize that there’s overmuch much that nan athletics and nan athletes person to prove. I spell backmost to nan remark that [University of South Carolina hoops coach] Dawn Staley made respective years ago: Are nan powers that beryllium going to get retired of nan way? Are they going to fto them cook?”