Breaking: Local Indianapolis Stations to Air Select Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever Games for Free
There are now numerous ways for Fever fans to watch the No. 1 overall pick’s rookie season.
Outside of a handful of NFL narratives, the biggest story in all of sports this season has been the ascendency of Caitlin Clark to the top of the women’s basketball and sporting worlds. Last week she was taken No. 1 overall in the WNBA draft by the perennial bottom-dwelling Indiana Fever, a move considered such a foregone conclusion that the league’s broadcast partners were already lining up to get the team's games in front of national audiences as much as possible this summer. Now local fans are going to be getting an extra helping of Fever action, as a selection of the team’s games will be coming to free, over-the-air broadcast channels this season.
Key Details:
- There will be 17 Fever games available for free on local Indianapolis broadcast affiliates.
- Nearly every Fever game will be available on national outlets this season, but fans won’t need a pay-TV subscription to watch the select OTA contests.
- TEGNA is working with broadcasters in other markets to bring Fever games to broadcast channels outside of Indianapolis as well.
On Monday, station owner TEGNA announced that it would be airing 17 of the Fever’s 36 regular season games on its local Indianapolis affiliates. These over-the-air stations are available via cable, satellite, and live TV streaming services, but they are free to anyone with an antenna. This move to air Fever games on local broadcast networks is the latest example of the sports broadcasting industry moving games to over-the-air (OTA) channels.
In the case of the Fever, the games will be split between TEGNA’s NBC and MeTV affiliates WTHR and WALV. While thanks to Clark, the Fever will have 36 of their 40 pre and regular-season games airing on national networks, fans in the team’s local market will not have to subscribe to multiple different services and platforms in order to see a healthy number of them.
“So many new fans are tuning in to watch the world’s best basketball players compete in the WNBA, and the Fever have built a roster of incredible young talent that has caught the attention of basketball fans all over the globe,” CEO of Fever’s parent company Pacers Sports & Entertainment Rick Fuson said. “TEGNA and WTHR have been amazing local partners for years, and we are excited that more fans than ever before will get the chance to watch these amazing athletes play.”
TEGNA also announced that it would be working with broadcasters outside of the Fever’s home market in order to hopefully expand the free, over-the-air access to Clark’s rookie season games to even more fans. The demand for women’s basketball has never been higher. Earlier this month, as Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes took on the South Carolina Gamecocks for the national title, for the first time in history the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Game drew in more viewers than the men's title game did.
“This is an exhilarating moment for women’s sports. The WNBA and Fever are leading the charge with this groundbreaking local broadcast rights agreement,” TEGNA president and CEO Dave Lougee said. “The remarkable journey of Caitlin Clark and her teammates has captured the hearts and minds of millions. We’re thrilled to deliver all the Fever action to every household in the Indianapolis region.”
Which Live TV Streaming Services in Indianapolis Will Carry the Indiana Fever Local Broadcasts?
In The Streamable’s expert opinion, we recommend DIRECTV STREAM as it is the only live TV streaming service that carries both WTHR and WALV. While the MeTV affiliate is not available on the base Entertainment package, it is on the next available level. Both NBC and MeTV — as well as nearly all of the options for watching nationally broadcast WNBA games — are available on the DIRECTV STREAM Choice package for $108.99 per month.
| DTV STREAM | Fubo | Hulu | Philo | Sling TV | YouTube | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free 3-Day Trial | Free Trial | Get 50% Off | Sign Up | |||
| $79.99 | $94.99 | $76.99 | $25 | $40 | $40 | $72.99 | ||
| MeTV | + $29 | - | - | ✓ | - | - | - | |
| NBC | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | VOD | ✓ | |
What 2024 Indiana Fever Games Will Be Available on Local Broadcast Channels?
| Date | Time (ET) | Opponent | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, May 16 | 7 p.m. | New York Liberty | WTHR (NBC) |
| Wednesday, May 22 | 10 p.m. | Seattle Storm | WTHR (NBC) |
| Saturday, May 25 | 9 p.m. | Las Vegas Aces | WTHR (NBC) |
| Thursday, May 30 | 7 p.m. | Seattle Storm | WTHR (NBC) |
| Saturday, June 1 | 1 p.m. | Chicago Sky | WALV (MeTV) |
| Monday, June 10 | 7 p.m. | Connecticut Sun | WTHR (NBC) |
| Thursday, June 13 | 7 p.m. | Atlanta Dream | WTHR (NBC) |
| Wednesday, July 10 | 12 noon | Washington Mystics | WALV (MeTV) |
| Saturday, Aug. 24 | 8 p.m. | Minnesota Lynx | WALV (MeTV) |
| Monday, Aug. 26 | 7:30 p.m. | Atlanta Dream | WTHR (NBC) |
| Wednesday, Aug. 28 | 7 p.m. | Connecticut Sun | WALV (MeTV) |
| Sunday, Sept. 1 | 4 p.m. | Dallas Wings | WALV (MeTV) |
| Wednesday, Sept. 4 | 7 p.m. | Los Angeles Sparks | WALV (MeTV) |
| Sunday, Sept. 8 | 4 p.m. | Atlanta Dream | WTHR (NBC) |
| Wednesday, Sept. 11 | 7 p.m. | Las Vegas Aces | WALV (MeTV) |
| Sunday, Sept. 15 | 3 p.m. | Dallas Wings | WALV (MeTV) |
| Thursday, Sept. 19 | 7 p.m. | Washington Mystics | WTHR (NBC) |
DIRECTV STREAM
DIRECTV STREAM is a live TV streaming service, which is essentially the streaming version of the DIRECTV service. All packages include local channels and at least 31 of the top 35 cable channels. New subscribers can get a free Gemini streaming device from the company, in which case the service is called “DIRECTV via Internet.”