‘A really big deal;’ WNBA All-Star game in prime time on ABC

ESPN basketball analyst Rebecca Lobo was a participant in the first WNBA All-Star game in 1999.

As a player and broadcaster, she’s seen the event evolve and the league grow in popularity. Entering this weekend’s All-Star game in Las Vegas, Lobo said there is a different level of excitement around the WNBA.

For the first time in the event’s history, the game will air in prime time on network television. ABC will broadcast the game at Michelob Ultra Arena at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

“It’s a really big deal,” Lobo said. “People outside of the TV landscape might say ‘What’s the big deal?’ But it’s different when it’s ABC prime time.”

Lobo will work alongside play-by-play man Ryan Ruocco and sideline reporter Holly Rowe. It will be the ninth straight All-Star game for the trio. They have also worked the last 10 WNBA Finals.

Putting the game in a prime television window is part of the network’s push to be more progressive in the ways they broadcast games and showcase the athletes.

“As we’ve seen, particularly coming off our women’s college basketball national championship coverage on ABC (which set a title- game record with 9.9 million viewers in a Sunday afternoon window), there’s such an interest in and desire to consume women’s sports right now,” ESPN coordinating producer Sara Gaiero said.

This weekend, up to 12 players will wear microphones, allowing ESPN to talk to them live during the game or track their sound for audio packages. They will also introduce a wearable camera for players on the bench and family sitting courtside to bring a different perspective.

“One of the great things about this league is the access that we get to the players,” Gaiero said. “We’ve seen access be something that’s really successful right now across sports. We’ll really lean into that.”

This season, ESPN introduced live in-game interviews with coaches instead of a taped interview that would happen between quarters. Lobo was skeptical about the idea before the season but said no coach has turned down a request to wear a microphone.

Lobo said players in the past didn’t like wearing microphones in-game, but said over time players have understood the importance of being accessible for the league and growing their own brands.

“Thankfully, the players have rolled with us as we’ve tried to evolve the access to make it more current,” Gaiero said.

Last year’s All-Star game was the most watched in the previous six years, averaging 734,000 viewers, which was up 53 percent from the 2021 All-Star Game. Saturday night on ABC, Gaiero said she expects to see great viewership.

This season, ESPN has seen a rise in viewership for its WNBA game coverage. They are averaging 548,000 viewers through 13 games on ESPN or ESPN2, which is up 46 percent from last year, and 647,000 viewers for their eight games on ABC, which is up 18 percent compared to before the All-Star game last year.

With Las Vegas being the center of the basketball universe and the market becoming a hotbed for sports, Gaiero said showcasing how the city is handling being a host to the event will be important in their coverage.

“That’s our responsibility to show how great this city has been with all the different ways on the Strip they’ve promoted the game, the league and the event this weekend, that just again shows the viewers how big this is,” Gaiero said.

The Aces sit at 19-2 entering the All-Star break and have won 13 of their games by double figures. Lobo said having a “super team” like the Aces has raised the level of excitement around the league, to where even casual sports fans are paying attention to the record start the Aces are on.

“It’s been great for the league and it’s a really high level of basketball,” Lobo said. “If you’re just flipping through the channels and you come across an Aces game, they’re really fun to watch because of the talent they have. … The action you’re seeing on the court, it’s just simply too good.”

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on Twitter.