Athletes Unlimited announced on Wednesday morning that they will be airing AU Hoops games on the ESPN family of networks for the first time this upcoming season, with six matchups set to appear on ESPN+. This is part of a larger multi-year renewal between Athletes Unlimited and ESPN, but the first time basketball has been included in the package. In addition, ESPN will have international rights for these competitions to air on TSN in Canada, ESPN Latin America, and other platforms.
“ESPN has been absolutely crucial to the success of Athletes Unlimited, showcasing our amazing world-class athletes on the biggest global stage in sports. ESPN’s renewed and expanded commitment to Athletes Unlimited is both a validation of our business model as well as a testament to the growing popularity of these sports at the professional level,” said Jon Patricof, CEO and Co-Founder of Athletes Unlimited. “With all four of our pro women’s sports now featured on ESPN, we look forward to working with their incredible team to take Athletes Unlimited to even greater heights in the coming years to serve fans as well as brands looking to reach fans of women’s sports.”
“We’re excited to showcase even more world-class female athletes through this new agreement with Athletes Unlimited as part of ESPN’s longstanding commitment to women’s sports,” said Dan Margulis, senior director of programming & acquisitions, ESPN. “This agreement allows us to continue to showcase the sports we feature on the collegiate level – highlighting these athletes throughout college and into their professional careers. We look forward to presenting our debut season of AU Pro Basketball on ESPN platforms in addition to the popular league competitions that already exist in volleyball, softball and lacrosse.”
Here’s the breakdown of ESPN’s 2024 coverage of Athletes Unlimited Pro Sports:
| Sport/Dates | Total Games (All Networks) | ESPN Linear Networks | ESPN+ |
| AU Pro Basketball (Feb/Mar) | 24 | – | 6 |
| AU Pro Softball AUX (June) | 18 | 18 | – |
| AU Pro Lacrosse (Jul/Aug) | 24 | 12 | – |
| AU Pro Softball (Jul/Aug) | 30 | 12 | 3 |
| AU Pro Volleyball (Oct/Nov) | 30 | 15 | 5 |
| Totals | 126 | 57 | 14 |
AU Pro Basketball tips off at the end of this month, on February 29, 2024, and features a 40-player roster with more WNBA talent than ever before, as Winsidr reported over the last few months. AU is also running it back with WNBA League Pass, with 24 games to be available on that familiar app. In preparation for the upcoming season, Owen Pence and I are in the midst of bringing on one AU player per week on our podcast, Pull Up with Myles and Owen. To this point, All-Star Kelsey Mitchell and WNBA vet Sequoia Holmes have joined us for conversations.
