WNBA League Pass to air Athletes Unlimited basketball games

The GIST: Athletes Unlimited (AU) scored an impressive new broadcast teammate. Yesterday, the women’s sports organization announced that most of its 2023 hoops slate will air on WNBA League Pass, creating a unique partnership in the women’s basketball space.

The details: Twenty-five of the 30 games during AU’s second basketball season — which tips off February 23rd — will be available at no additional cost to WNBA League Pass subscribers. The remaining five games will air on CBS Sports Network, while Bally Sports and the Women’s Sports Network will also carry select games.

• The W is broadening its League Pass offerings, a platform that attracts highly-engaged fans. It mirrors a move by NBA League Pass, which recently started streaming French team Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92 games, where NBA prospect Victor Wembanyama plays hoops.

The context: Brittney Griner’s wrongful detainment in Russia last year forced many players to reevaluate where to collect offseason paychecks, and AU is the only domestic league offering wages. Eighteen W players, including Washington Mystic Natasha Cloud, will join AU in 2023.

Zooming out: A platform like WNBA League Pass provides AU with obvious exposure in front of a die-hard basketball audience, but also presents some perks for the WNBA. The league now has a chance to monetize its streamer during the offseason and suggests there’s room for collaboration — not competition — with AU. Better together.