NWHL to Stream Games for Free

The National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) has announced plans for their new streaming service called Cross-Ice Pass, which will stream for free via YouTube all season long.

The service launches on Sunday, when the first two games of the league’s inaugural season take place. The New York Riveters face the Connecticut Whale at 1:30pm EST and the Buffalo Beauts take on the Boston Price at 3pm EST.

The league had previously announced that they would be streaming all games, which seems necessary to the growth of the game with all four of the league’s teams concentrated in the north east. However, providing the streams for free could be really great for the league as it attempts to compete with all the other hockey happening throughout the season.

It allows for both casual fans who might not otherwise tune in for a NWHL game to watch, as well as low-income viewers who wouldn’t spend the money but have an interest in women’s hockey. Broadening the fanbase will be a huge part of the NWHL’s potential success, both now and for building in future seasons, including building a market in new markets where the league could potentially expand to. It’s a brilliant move to improve and grow their product.

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