Going forward, the Atlanta Dream will be easier to find on Atlanta television.
This is because the WNBA team has inked a deal with Gray Television, the parent company of WPCH TV Channel 17 (Peachtree TV) and the Peachtree Sports Network, to air its non-national televised games on those stations. Both are available over the air, on cable, and on most streaming services.
The @AtlantaDream has found a new home on Peachtree TV and Peachtree Sports Network! https://t.co/SfazEu7FQa pic.twitter.com/L0SUPfIVBd
— Peachtree TV – WPCH (@peachtreetv) February 28, 2024
Until now, the Dream’s games aired on Bally Sports South and Southeast, which were only available on Comcast’s Xfinity in the Atlanta market and very few other places, limiting the team’s TV reach. This new deal will put the 16-year-old women’s basketball team in more local households than ever. Peachtree TV and PSN will air the games starting May 15, when the Dream start their 2024 season against the L.A. Sparks.
“Across the nation, interest in women’s basketball has exploded over the past few years due largely to the amazing talent on the court,” said WANF/WPCH VP and General Manager Erik Schrader, in a statement. “We are excited to be the Dream’s official broadcast partner on Peachtree TV this season. It’s another incredible opportunity to grow new fans, on the best platform to reach them, with the top broadcasting company in local television.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Gray Television to get the Atlanta Dream into even more households across our state and the Southeast region,” said Morgan Shaw Parker, President and COO of Atlanta Dream, also in a statement. “We believe that 2024 is going to be the most exciting season yet for the Dream. The atmosphere inside our arena is the best in the WNBA, and we are excited to have a television partner who can help us bring that experience to an even bigger audience.”
This new deal with the Dream further grows Gray Television’s local sports offerings. Earlier this year, the Atlanta-based broadcaster’s stations began carrying select Atlanta Hawks games not aired by Bally Sports. In addition to affiliating WPCH with the increasingly sports-focused CW network, Gray also launched the Peachtree Sports Network, which airs live local sports programming each day.
This isn’t the first time WPCH has aired live sports. During the Ted Turner era, when the station was WTCG/WTBS, it regularly aired Atlanta Braves baseball and Hawks basketball to not just a local, but national audience via cable on “SuperStation WTBS.”
Social media credit: WPCH TV/X-Twitter