The WNBA is growing! Watch the 2026 WNBA Expansion Draft
The WNBA is growing! Watch the 2026 WNBA Expansion Draft
The event will help the WNBA’s two new teams fill out their rosters.
The expansion draft is one of the more interesting phenomena in all of sports. It allows teams joining a major sports league to pick players from other teams, and with the WNBA adding two new franchises in 2026, it will hold its Expansion Draft on Friday, April 3 at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN. The Portland Fire and Toronto Temple will take turns filling out their rosters during the draft, and we recommend watching with a subscription to Sling TV.
How to watch the 2026 WNBA Expansion Draft
- When: Friday, April 3 at 3:30 p.m. ET
- TV: ESPN
- Stream: Watch with a subscription to Sling TV.
- From anywhere: Watch with a subscription to a VPN.
Everything you need to know about the 2026 WNBA Expansion Draft
When is the 2026 WNBA Expansion Draft?
The half-hour WNBA Expansion Draft special will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET on Friday, April 3, on ESPN.
Why do we recommend watching the 2026 WNBA Expansion Draft with Sling TV?
Sling TV is the ideal choice for watching the 2026 WNBA Expansion Draft. ESPN is carried in the Sling Orange package, which users can subscribe to for just $46 per month if they want continuous access to ESPN and ESPN2, as well as other sports networks like TNT and TBS.
Sling also sells Passes for its Orange plan, allowing subscribers to sign up for as little as $5 per day, $10 for three days, or $15 for seven days. Customers can use Sling Passes to watch the WNBA Expansion Draft, the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Final Four, and the Men’s Tournament Final Four and Championship game between now and Monday evening.
Watch the WNBA Expansion Draft your way with Sling TV. Pay for as much access to Sling Orange as you want, and when you’re done watching, you won’t feel as if you’re being forced to pay for a service you don’t need any longer!
Sling TV
Sling TV is The Streamable’s choice for cord-cutters on a budget. Sling is a live TV streaming service with multiple channel packages. The $45.99/month Sling Orange plan offers about 30 channels, including Disney Channel and ESPN. The $45.99/month Sling Blue plan offers about 40 channels, including ABC, Fox, and NBC in major markets.
You can combine Orange+Blue for a total of $60.99 / month. Sling also offers many channel add-on packages starting at $6/month.
Can you watch the 2026 WNBA Expansion Draft for free?
Several streamers carry ESPN and offer free trials that you can use to watch the 2026 WNBA Expansion Draft.
DIRECTV carries ESPN in its MySports Genre Pack and all Signature packages. It offers a five-day free trial to all new streaming subscribers.
Fubo has a free trial that can last between one and seven days, depending on factors like what time of month a new customer subscribes. Once the trial is over, it offers ESPN in its Fubo Sports service, as well as its Pro and Elite plans.
Hulu + Live TV comes with the same three-day free trial for all new subscribers.
YouTube TV is offering ESPN in its sports-only package, as well as its core plan. The service has a free trial between two and 21 days, depending on several variables.
| DIRECTV | Fubo | Hulu | Philo | Sling TV | YouTube TV | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free 3-Day Trial | Free Trial | Save with Sling | Free Trial | |||||
| $20.99 | $9.99 | $28.99 | $25 | $19.99 | $29.99 | $45.99 | $45.99 | $64.99 | ||
| ESPN | + $24 | + $59 | + $61 | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | |
What are all the services you can use to watch the 2026 WNBA Expansion Draft?
The 2026 WNBA Expansion Draft is available to stream on DIRECTV, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and YouTube TV. Of these choices, we prefer Sling TV, for the reasons we laid out above.
You can also stream the 2026 WNBA Expansion Draft with a subscription to ESPN Unlimited, with prices starting at $30 per month.
ESPN Unlimited
ESPN launched its highly anticipated direct-to-consumer streaming service on August 21, 2025. For the first time, this service gives sports fans access to its full lineup of linear channels without a traditional cable or satellite subscription.
How to watch the 2026 WNBA Expansion Draft from anywhere
If you’ll be away from home and can’t watch the WNBA Expansion Draft as you normally would, you can still catch all of the action no matter where you are in the world with a VPN. A VPN can be used on your phone, tablet, or computer and make you appear to be back home — even when you’re not — making sure you feel at home no matter where you are. A VPN is a safe and secure way to stay protected online while streaming your favorite sports, movies, and shows on the go. Keep in mind that you will still need to be subscribed to a live TV streaming service like Sling TV in order to stream the draft with a VPN.
NordVPN is one of the best providers around, at one of the best prices. Currently, you can get two full years of protection for just $3.59 per month — plus you’ll get three extra months FREE. A high-speed VPN with best-in-class security that can be used on up to 10 devices at once — what more could you ask for? Simply sign up, install the software on your device of choice, and start streaming just as you would back home. It couldn’t be easier!
While NordVPN is our recommendation for the best VPN to use while you are traveling, there are a number of other high-quality options available depending on what you are looking for.
- Best Features: ExpressVPN | Starting at $5 per month
- Best Budget Option: Surfshark | Starting at $2.50 per month
- Best Free Option: Proton VPN | Free plan available
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