For fans of women’s hockey, the first broadcast of the US league is a waste of time
Growing up, Kate Hoos was told that girls don’t play hockey.
“If you can find a group of girls, we will let you play,” she remembers being told. But there was no girl group then – and it wasn’t until ten years later, at age 20, that she learned to skate.
Now 44 and fresh off a season with her recreational team in New York City, she will be watching Saturday as the Professional Women’s Hockey League has its first nationally televised game in the US.
The New York Sirens will face Montréal Victoire (1 pm ET, ION) at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena as part of the league’s Takeover Tour with regular season games played in non-franchise cities to increase exposure.
For PWHL fans, the broadcast is a pastime that reflects their long-held truth: Women’s hockey deserves national attention.
“This is a world I didn’t know would be there,” said Hoos, who likes to harken back to the US women’s gold medal win at the 1998 Winter Olympics.
“Everyone at the time told me I was crazy. It’s not going to happen. It’s never going to make any money. Nobody’s going to care. They’re not going to have enough players. Everything will happen under the sun,” he added. “And it took time. It was a long time and it was a thorny road, but now I feel like we’re finally coming out into the world that I knew would be there.”
Interest in women’s hockey has increased dramatically for the 2026 Winter Olympics. The gold medal final between Team USA and Canada was the most-watched women’s hockey game on record, drawing 5.3 million viewers across USA Network and Peacock.
The PWHL’s first three games after the Olympic break have sold out, including one in Seattle that had a record attendance of 17,355. And upcoming games at New York’s Madison Square Garden on April 4 and Boston’s TD Garden on April 11 have also been canceled.
The broadcast “represents all the growth we’re seeing in women’s hockey right now,” said Jackie Johnston, a content creator known as “Coach Jackie” to her more than 1 million social media followers. “It is always good that this is seen by broadcasters who think and know that if they want to make money and want to be successful in their business, that women’s sports is the place to be right now.”
The PWHL, which began in 2024, has broadcast partners in Canada but has yet to secure a full-time TV deal in the US Games are available on its YouTube channel for free and on other local channels. Now, ION will bring this weekend’s game to more than 126 million homes nationwide.
Rachel Donner, co-host of “At Even Strength,” a women’s hockey podcast, described her reaction to the broadcast as a combination of excitement and “finality.”
“People who like it look for it on YouTube or on social media,” he said. “But if it’s on the grid and people want it and see it there, that will bring new fans to the game.”
The mid-season Olympics provide revenue and exposure that allows the league to capitalize on increased interest. Fans can follow players from international competition to the professional league, a “natural ride” that helps the PWHL grow, Donner said. Sixty-one PWHL players from eight countries competed in the Milan Cortina Games, bringing home 41 medals.
Ava Wood, a content creator and newsletter writer whose 365HockeyGirl has more than 50,000 followers on social media, called the announcement of the national broadcast a “relief.” After a history of instability in professional women’s hockey, bringing in an eight-team league that is just three seasons old, she said, allays her lingering concerns that the PWHL could fold.
“That shows me that the PWHL is going to be here to stay and it’s going to be really sustainable,” he said.
Wood said his TikTok following nearly doubled after the Olympics, and he hopes Saturday’s broadcast will help usher in a new wave of support for the league.
“There are a lot of people who will become fans of the PWHL once they see it,” he said.
But as the excitement grows, so do concerns that American broadcasters will present the stories of female athletes with respect and authenticity. The way the game is broadcast will affect how the audience perceives the game.
Some fans have criticized the commentary during the women’s hockey games at the Olympics for focusing on male voices — whether it was tying the players back to the accomplishments of their husbands or the one instance when an interview with the NHL’s Brady Tkachuk was aired about the women’s game.
Wood said he would like to see our broadcast partners aim to promote female commentators, dedicate time to the pre- and post-game show or even have PWHL rules experts fully include everyone and be accessible to fans at all levels.
“There’s still this culture, perhaps, of having to validate women’s hockey through the male gaze,” said Erica L. Ayala, founder of Black Rosie Media and producer of “At Even Strength.”
Ayala, a veteran sports broadcaster who called more than 100 games with the Premier Hockey Federation, hopes ION will approach this time carefully, given its track record in other women’s sports, such as the WNBA and the National Women’s Soccer League.
“I am very impressed [ION’s] the level of commitment to bring in and engage new WNBA fans while still being able to truly embrace the OG fans,” Ayala said.
Ultimately, broadcasting is another part of the PWHL’s growth – bringing exposure to talent fans have known for years. The next step is to see the players rewarded, said Ayala.
“Women’s hockey deserves a lot more than a flash in the pan,” she said. “I don’t know that sports and players have a lot more to show, I go back to what he said [University of South Carolina basketball coach] Dawn Staley did a few years ago: Will the power get out of the way? Will they let them cook?”
