PWHL's Walter Cup Finals will air on national TV, a first for league

Everyone can now watch the PWHL finals.

The Walter Cup Finals will air on ION, the first time in the PWHL's three-year history they will be on national linear television in the United States. This follows Scripps Sports and Ally partnering to air the first league game on national TV, also on ION, when the New York Sirens and the Montréal Victoire play March 28 in Detroit as part of the PWHL's Takeover Tour.

ION can be seen on over-the-air and pay TV, as well as streaming platforms.

"Coming off the electric energy of the Winter Olympics, where we watched Team USA capture gold in an unforgettable overtime thriller, Americans are hungry for more world-class women’s hockey. Fans shouldn’t have to wait another four years to experience this level of passion, skill and drama," Scripps president and CEO Adam Symson said in the Wednesday, March 18, release announcing the televising of the Walter Cup Finals. 

The Walter Cup Finals begin in May and will feature best-of-five semifinals, with the winners of those series meeting in a best-of-five championship series. The Minnesota Frost are the two-time defending champions of the Walter Cup.

TSN in Canada had aired the first two editions of the Walter Cup Finals. But the announcement that they will be televised in the United States is a further sign of the growth of interest in women's sports, hockey in particular. The PWHL said it has seen a 23% year-over-year increase in average attendance, while the gold-medal game at the Milano Cortina Olympics was the most-watched women’s hockey game on record with an audience peak of 7.7 million viewers in overtime on USA and Peacock.

"(The Walter Cup Finals') debut on national television in the U.S. is another meaningful step in making our game easier to find and follow,” said Amy Scheer, the PWHL's executive vice president of business operations.