PWHPA to stream final two 2019-20 Dream Gap Tour stops on ESPN, Monumental Sports Network

The PWHPA has a new streaming home in the ESPN App, ESPN.com, and Monumental Sports Network. EPSN was announced as the organization’s “National Streaming Partner” while Monumental is the “the Digital Home of the PWHPA in the Metro Washington, D.C. area.”

Previously the organization had been streaming games on YouTube.

The new streaming platforms begin immediately for the Feb. 29-March 1 Dream Gap Tour stop in Philadelphia as well as the following weekend’s stop in Arizona.

“This is a big step for women’s hockey and we are excited to be able to reach so many new fans with ESPN who streams NHL and NCAA Hockey and Monumental Sports who have been innovators in the digital space for the fans of their NHL, NBA, WNBA, NBA G-League and E-Sports teams in the District,” stated Jayna Hefford, Lead Operation Consultant of the PWHPA in their press release.

The games will continue to be on CBC Gem App in Canada, but will no longer be on YouTube.

According to the release, “ESPN customers will need to log in to their account for authentication.” In a message to The Ice Garden, the PWHPA said that an ESPN+ subscription should work as well. Monumental Sports is a paid site at $7/month, except for viewers in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

The press release made no mention if the deal involved money, and they had not responded when asked as of this writing.

If fans aren’t able to watch live, both will have archives of the games, though only for a limited amount of time. ESPN’s streams will only be available for 30 days after the game and Monumental will have them through June 2020.

The move to these platforms is a notable step up from YouTube. On ESPN Watch, the games pop up in the streaming lineup, introducing the organization and women’s hockey to new fans. The ability for people to stumble on the games is a big one in growing the women’s hockey.

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