Northwoods League Renews Rights Agreement with ESPN
NWL All-Star Games to air on ESPNU, Playoffs and daily games to stream exclusively on ESPN+
Rochester, Minn. – The Northwoods League today announced a renewed rights agreement with ESPN to stream select games each day of the 2023 season. These games will be available exclusively on ESPN+, along with the League playoffs and Summer Collegiate World Series. The Great Lakes and Great Plains All-Star Games hosted by the Traverse City Pit Spitters and the Bismarck Larks will air on ESPNU.
The Northwoods League has a four-camera HD setup in each ballpark in the league and has been streaming games for over ten years.
“ESPN+ gives the Northwoods League outstanding viewership during the summer months and having a number of games on ESPNU the next couple of years gives Northwoods League players a high level of exposure at this point in their careers,” said Northwoods League Chairman/Co-Founder Dick Radatz, Jr.
The opening night matchups, May 29 on ESPN+, will feature the Rockford Rivets travelling to Traverse City to take on the Pit Spitters in the Great Lakes Division and the Thunder Bay Border Cats travelling to Mankato to take on the MoonDogs in the Great Plains. The Northwoods League All-Star Game in the Great Lakes Division will take place on July 25 in Traverse City and the All-Star Game in the Great Plains will be on August 1 in Bismarck. Both games will air on ESPNU. The League will also air the June 22 game in Bismarck and the July 2 game in Traverse City on ESPNU.
The first week of games on ESPN+ is listed below.
| DATE | TIME | AWAY TEAM | AWAY STATE | HOME TEAM |
HOME STATE |
|
05/29/2023 |
7:35 PM |
Thunder Bay Border Cats | ONT, Canada | Mankato MoonDogs | MN |
|
05/29/2023 |
7:05 PM | Rockford Rivets | IL | Traverse City Pit Spitters |
MI |
|
05/30/2023 |
11:05 AM |
Kokomo Jackrabbits |
IN | Battle Creek Battle Jacks |
MI |
| 05/30/2023 | 7:35 PM | Fon Du Lac Dock Spiders | WI | Green Bay Rockers |
WI |
|
05/31/2023 |
7:35 PM |
St. Cloud Rox |
MN |
Bismarck Larks | ND |
|
05/31/2023 |
8:05 PM |
Eau Claire Express |
WI |
Willmar Stingers |
MN |
|
06/01/2023 |
12:35 PM |
Madison Mallards |
WI |
Fon Du Lac Dock Spiders |
WI |
|
06/01/2023 |
7:35 PM |
Waterloo Bucks |
IA |
La Crosse Loggers |
WI |
|
06/02/2023 |
6:35 PM |
Kokomo Jackrabbits |
IN |
Kalamazoo Growlers |
MI |
|
06/02/2023 |
8:05 PM |
Willmar Stingers |
MN |
Bismarck Larks |
ND |
|
06/03/2023 |
7:35 PM |
Mankato Moon Dogs |
MN |
Rochester Honkers |
MN |
|
06/03/2023 |
6:35 PM |
Kokomo Jackrabbits |
IN |
Kalamazoo Growlers |
MI |
| 06/04/2023 | 2:05 PM | Green Bay Rockers |
WI |
Lakeshore Chinooks |
WI |
| 06/04/2023 | 2:05 PM | Fon Du Lac Dock Spiders | WI | Wausau Woodchucks |
WI |
###
The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Entering its’ 30th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires, and front office staff, 325 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (NYM), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). League games are viewable live for FREE via the Northwoods League website at watchnwl.com as well as select games on ESPN+ and ESPNU. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.
About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service that offers fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks and exclusive editorial content from dozens of ESPN writers and reporters. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown to more than 25.3 million subscribers. Fans sign up to ESPN+ for just $9.99 a month (or $99.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices).
