As more and more people continue to cut cable and search for ways to watch only the programming they want, sports leagues have capitalized on this by offering season-long subscriptions to out-of-market games that aren’t on national TV.
If you really only care about the NHL, MLB, NBA, or NFL, they’re actually a pretty decent deal. Anywhere from $130 to $150 gets you every out-of-market, non-national TV game, and you can even watch them on-demand and with DVR-like capabilities.
But $130-$150 isn’t exactly cheap, and still requires internet.
But what if you’re a huge fan of women’s basketball, and want to keep following your favorite players after they leave college and head to the WNBA? Sure ESPN shows a game or two each week, but that means you’re missing out on another 6-10 games per week that aren’t on cable.
That’s where a league’s streaming package comes into play. And the WNBA has the most fan-friendly pricing I’ve ever seen. Try and guess how much you might think it is for nearly six months of basketball? $100? $125? $75?
None of those are even close. Here, from the league website and page for WNBA League Pass is how much a season will set you back:
That’s right. $16.99. Less than a meal at a decent restaurant. For an entire season of professional basketball.
That’s a deal so good, that I’m not even a WNBA fan or even aware of it 98 percent of the year, and I still debated getting it. $16.99. For roughly 150 professional basketball games.
If you’re a WNBA fan of any sort, there is no reason not to take the league up on that offer, especially when the other major leagues are charging nearly 10 times that price for its season, and has a heck of a lot more games on national TV.
Think about this: Let’s say you really wanted to start a WNBA blog about your favorite team, player, or just the league in general. You can have access to every game for $17. You couldn’t do it that cheap if you lived across the street from the arena and walked to every game.
Part of me wonders why the WNBA has made it so cheap for so many games. I mean, even MLS is $80 for a whole season. Honestly, charging around $50 to $75 for the WNBA would not seem outrageous to me.
Or why not just round up a couple bucks and charge an even $20?
Oh, and if $17 is a little too steep for your tastes, or you don’t care about any of the teams or players other than your favorite, a single-team pass for the year is just $10 to watch all of their games, either live or on demand.
Either way, it’s the best deal I’ve ever seen to legally stream games for an entire league.