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Published On: May 26th, 2022

Northwoods League Announces Streaming Rights Agreement with ESPN+

NWL All-Star Game, Major League Dreams Showcase, Playoffs and daily games to air exclusively on ESPN+

Rochester, Minn. – The Northwoods League today announced a new rights agreement with ESPN+ to stream select games each day of the 2022 season. These games will be available exclusively on ESPN+, along with the Northwoods League All-Star Game, the Major League Dreams Showcase, the League playoffs and Summer Collegiate World Series.

“We are excited for our agreement with the Northwoods League to begin later this month,” said John Lasker, Vice President, Digital Media Programming, ESPN. “Presenting this collegiate summer league makes a great addition to our already expansive collegiate and professional baseball programming on ESPN+.”

The Northwoods League has a four-camera HD setup in each ballpark in the league and has been streaming games for over ten years. The League also produces a nightly studio show that recaps the previous night’s games and previews that day’s matchups.

“This is a game-changer for the Northwoods League to go along with our efforts in the gambling world we expect an unprecedented level of exposure for the League for years to come,” said Northwoods League Chairman/Co-Founder Dick Radatz, Jr.

The opening night matchups, May 30 on ESPN+, will feature the Wausau Woodchucks travelling to Fond du Lac to take on the Dock Spiders in the Great Lakes Division. In the Great Plains Division, the Duluth Huskies will visit the Mankato MoonDogs. The Northwoods League All-Star Game will take place on July 19 in Wisconsin Rapids and the Major League Dreams Showcase will return to La Crosse on August 2.

The first week of games on ESPN+ is listed below and more games will be announced soon.

Date                    Time                     Away                        Away State              Home                               Home State
05/30               1:05 PM            Wausau Woodchucks       WI          Fond du Lac Dock Spiders      WI
05/30               6:35 PM            Duluth Huskies                MN          Mankato MoonDogs               MN
05/31               6:35 PM            Duluth Huskies                MN          Mankato MoonDogs               MN
06/01               6:35 PM            Kenosha Kingfish             WI           Kokomo Jackrabbits               IN
06/01               7:05 PM            Rochester Honkers           MN         Bismarck Larks                     ND
06/02               11:35 AM          Green Bay Rockers           WI           Fond du Lac Dock Spiders   WI
06/02               6:35 PM            Rochester Honkers           MN         Bismarck Larks                     ND
06/03               7:05 PM            Battle Creek Battle Jacks   MI         Traverse City Pit Spitters              MI
06/03               7:05 PM            Minnesota Mud Puppies    MN        St. Cloud Rox                        MN
06/04               3:05 PM            Willmar Stingers                MN         Duluth Huskies                     MN
06/04               7:05 PM            Battle Creek Battle Jacks   MI         Traverse City Pit Spitters              MI
06/05               2:05 PM            Rockford Rivets                   IL             Kokomo Jackrabbits               IN
06/05               4:05 PM            Mankato MoonDogs          MN         St. Cloud Rox                        MN

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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Entering its’ 29th 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, over 280 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+. 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 22.3 million subscribers. 

   

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