2023-24 Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) News

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I'm a bit late getting on board but I'm excited to follow this league now that it's rolling. I'm supremely disappointed to see that we can't watch the Youtube feeds in Canada, but not entirely surpised considering the stranglehold that Bell Media has on sports broadcasting up here.

I don't have cable, so any of the major networks are out. Looking at the schedule, I can watch the games for free through CBC Gem but otherwise it's through the TSN or Sportsnet streaming services, both of which are quite pricey for following a single league. Does anyone else in Canada have recommendations for watching the games? What's the best way to get to watch the PWHL balancing cost vs access?
 
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9 of the 13 games have ended with a 3-2 score.
It looks like attendance is way down already.
I predict this will be its first and last season.
 
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I'm a bit late getting on board but I'm excited to follow this league now that it's rolling. I'm supremely disappointed to see that we can't watch the Youtube feeds in Canada, but not entirely surpised considering the stranglehold that Bell Media has on sports broadcasting up here.

I don't have cable, so any of the major networks are out. Looking at the schedule, I can watch the games for free through CBC Gem but otherwise it's through the TSN or Sportsnet streaming services, both of which are quite pricey for following a single league. Does anyone else in Canada have recommendations for watching the games? What's the best way to get to watch the PWHL balancing cost vs access?
Do you have access to a VPN? Check your antivirus suite. It could include one. If you have that sorted, then YouTube.

Otherwise, probably some streaming websites.
 
I'm a bit late getting on board but I'm excited to follow this league now that it's rolling. I'm supremely disappointed to see that we can't watch the Youtube feeds in Canada, but not entirely surpised considering the stranglehold that Bell Media has on sports broadcasting up here.

I don't have cable, so any of the major networks are out. Looking at the schedule, I can watch the games for free through CBC Gem but otherwise it's through the TSN or Sportsnet streaming services, both of which are quite pricey for following a single league. Does anyone else in Canada have recommendations for watching the games? What's the best way to get to watch the PWHL balancing cost vs access?
The youtube streams are worldwide as I live in Canada and was able to watch the Montreal vs NY which was on TSN+
 
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I have been to one game, and paid for 4 tickets.
Have you been to any games?

The hockey was pretty awful. I did not enjoy it.
I'm sorry you feel you wasted your money. But watching a single game in person is not a fair sampling of the quality of a sports league, any more than your attempt to boil down the PWHL's fate to competitive scores & inaccurate attendance figures after a total of 13 games.

ETA: Oops, sorry, I neglected to answer your question. No, I have not attended any PWHL games yet. But I've paid enough attention to the League to easily rebut your notions of its present & its future.
 
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I'm sorry you feel you wasted your money. But watching a single game in person is not a fair sampling of the quality of a sports league, any more than your attempt to boil down the PWHL's fate to competitive scores & inaccurate attendance figures after a total of 13 games.

ETA: Oops, sorry, I neglected to answer your question. No, I have not attended any PWHL games yet. But I've paid enough attention to the League to easily rebut your notions of its future.
I tried to support the league by spending money on it, and have watched a bit of some other games on T.V.

There are some good players, but not enough.

We are supposed to be politically correct and rave about how great it is...at least in Canada.
 
I tried to support the league by spending money on it, and have watched a bit of some other games on T.V.

There are some good players, but not enough.

We are supposed to be politically correct and rave about how great it is...at least in Canada.
The talent pool is indeed uneven, a product of the historical development (or not) of women's hockey in North America along with this League's decision to rush a professional model product to market. If the League makes a positive impression on the current crop of skilled players in U.S. college programs & Canadian universities & international clubs, and if the first-year PWHL team members talk up the opportunities & experiences, the group of players available over the next few years could make PWHL hockey a better source of entertainment for a wider demographic of hockey fans.

On your "politically correct" statement, THAT is something we can agree on. It seems that Canada's pride (especially in hockey) has been in lock step with its politics for much longer than I've been a fan of the game (nearly 60 years). Whereas in the U.S. our pride has deteriorated over the last several decades & replaced by more politics, so hockey is an escape for us and not a birthright. Thus the difference between our two countries' expectations of hockey products ... though there will always be bitchin' 'n' moanin' on both sides of the border.
 
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PWHL Standings as of 21 January 2024. I guess Points don't count ... :dunno:

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They have pulled the game broadcast archive from their YT channel (except the inaugural NY@TO game)? Could this be the sign that an ESPN+ deal or something similar is incoming?

Now I'm realizing that they don't actually have game highlights on their YT either? Or were they taken down as well? Between the league itself and all its official rightholders, it seems that only Radio-Canada has highlights on their YT channel. This is a bad message as it once again validates the notion that the only significant topic of discussion about such a league is its very existence.
 
They have pulled the game broadcast archive from their YT channel (except the inaugural NY@TO game)? Could this be the sign that an ESPN+ deal or something similar is incoming?

Now I'm realizing that they don't actually have game highlights on their YT either? Or were they taken down as well? Between the league itself and all its official rightholders, it seems that only Radio-Canada has highlights on their YT channel. This is a bad message as it once again validates the notion that the only significant topic of discussion about such a league is its very existence.
Maybe the League's media staff finally had time to breathe, and recognized the Wild West nature of YT third parties snitching game content for their own channels - like this one ...



I wouldn't start up the alarms over what could be simply a PWHL adjustment to their media strategies & platform content ... give it a couple of weeks.

ETA: On further review, maybe the You Tube channel linked above is actually a League media product. If so, mystery solved. :dunno:
 
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Maybe the League's media staff finally had time to breathe, and recognized the Wild West nature of YT third parties snitching game content for their own channels - like this one ...



I wouldn't start up the alarms over what could be simply a PWHL adjustment to their media strategies & platform content ... give it a couple of weeks.

ETA: On further review, maybe the You Tube channel linked above is actually a League media product. If so, mystery solved. :dunno:

Yeah, it's a playlist by a third party channel but it links to content on the official channel. However, if you look under the video title, it now says "unlisted", which means the link still works if you know it but the PWHL did pull concluded games from their channel's menu. I find it a bit unfortunate, at least until they have game highlights on offer.
 
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Yeah, it's a playlist by a third party channel but it links to content on the official channel. However, if you look under the video title, it now says "unlisted", which means the link still works if you know it but the PWHL did pull concluded games from their channel's menu. I find it a bit unfortunate, at least until they have game highlights on offer.
One of the underlying messages from the PWHL so far is: "Don't expect our hockey league to do business like other hockey leagues." The unexpected can sometimes be a blessing, and other times a curse. :huh:
 
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Yeah, it's a playlist by a third party channel but it links to content on the official channel. However, if you look under the video title, it now says "unlisted", which means the link still works if you know it but the PWHL did pull concluded games from their channel's menu. I find it a bit unfortunate, at least until they have game highlights on offer.

They're going to end up back being listed on the official PWHL YouTube channel but are currently dealing with some issues. Some have speculated that there was a concern of copyright strikes because of music being played in the arena ending up on the broadcasts. Sucks but the games haven't disappeared and the issue is being worked on. For those in Canada they're still easy to find on CBC Gem.
 
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