The WNBA moved a potential championship-clinching game from Primetime to Thursday afternoon. It has yet to answer OutKick’s questions about why it chose a weekday afternoon over other options.
Game 6 between the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries will tip off at 12:30 p.m. ET Thursday at State Farm Arena, rather than its originally scheduled 8 p.m. start. For Golden State fans watching back home, that’s 9:30 a.m. PT.
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The game will still air on the USA Network and stream on Peacock.
The Valkyries lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 and can win their first championship Thursday. Atlanta needs a victory to force Game 7, which will be played Saturday at 8 p.m. ET at Chase Center in San Francisco. Unless the WNBA runs into yet another scheduling issue, of course.
OutKick asked Versant, USA Network’s parent company, what role it had in choosing or approving the new start time and whether it supported the move. A source at the company said the scheduling change was the WNBA’s decision, but did not say whether USA Network approved the new start time or supported the move.
Why did the WNBA decide that a weekday afternoon was the best time for one of its biggest games?
The league has not responded to OutKick’s questions about the decision, the alternatives considered or concerns about the potential impact on viewership.
The immediate scheduling problem was another basketball game. The NBA’s Atlanta Hawks host the Cleveland Cavaliers at State Farm Arena that night. The Hawks agreed to move their start time to 8 p.m. to accommodate the WNBA game and the arena turnaround.
The teams used a similar arrangement for Game 4 on Saturday, with the WNBA game starting at 1 p.m. and the Hawks tipping off at 8:30 p.m.
Keeping Game 6 at State Farm Arena allows the Dream to accommodate substantially more fans than their roughly 3,500-seat regular home, Gateway Center Arena.
And give Atlanta credit: Fans filled the larger building for Games 3 and 4. I previously questioned whether the Dream could fill State Farm Arena for the Finals, but they answered that with sellout crowds and a loud atmosphere.
Of course, neither Game 3 nor Game 4 was played at a time when most adults are at work and most kids are in school.
According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, another option under strong consideration was playing Game 6 on Friday at State Farm Arena and moving a potential Game 7 to Tuesday, Nov. 3, at Chase Center in San Francisco.
Instead, the league kept Game 6 on Thursday and preserved the potential Halloween Game 7. Moving Game 6 to Friday and a potential Game 7 to Tuesday would have extended the series that began Oct. 17 into November if a seventh game were needed.
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Shelburne initially reported on ESPN’s “NBA Today” that a potential championship celebration could be moved to a practice court because of the arena turnaround. She later clarified that there was “a resolve” to ensure any championship won Thursday would be celebrated on the court.
Winning a championship, then having to move the celebration to a practice court because the NBA needs the floor, would be a terrible look for the WNBA.
In its announcement, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert emphasized the opportunity to keep the game in the larger arena.
“The sellout crowds and extraordinary atmosphere at State Farm Arena for Games 3 and 4 were a tremendous success, and we’re excited to give thousands more fans the opportunity to experience Game 6 with a championship on the line,” Engelbert said.
She also thanked the NBA, both teams, the Hawks, State Farm Arena and USA Network for their collaboration and flexibility.
But thousands more available seats don’t necessarily mean thousands more people can attend. Fans who made Wednesday night and Saturday afternoon work now have to figure out a Thursday lunchtime tipoff.
The same problem applies to the television audience. Golden State fans who want to watch their team play for a championship will have to tune in at 9:30 on a Thursday morning.
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The league announced the change Monday, three days before the game, with tickets going on sale that afternoon.
The WNBA said it would work with the NBA and its broadcast partners on a coordinated marketing campaign across television, digital and social platforms to promote the new start time.
More promotion might help people find the game, but it won’t change when they have to work.
Perhaps Thursday afternoon was the best available compromise. But the league has been asked to explain why a potential championship clincher had to leave prime time.
With fans being asked to rearrange their schedules, the WNBA should at least explain how it arrived at this one.