Fans of the WNBA’s Tempo have been waiting patiently for news on where the team’s games will air in Canada. Finally, that wait is over.
Sports Business Journal has learned that Bell Media will be the official media partner of the Tempo. The formal announcement from both the franchise and the WNBA is expected to come Tuesday morning.
As part of a multiyear deal, TSN will broadcast and stream Tempo games and the WNBA All-Star Game as well as the WNBA postseason, WNBA Finals and WNBA Draft. Bell Media’s CTV will air a select number of Tempo games throughout the season as well as stream games on Crave through the live CTV channel.
The expansion franchise makes its regular season debut this Friday at Toronto’s Coca-Cola Coliseum against the Mystics. That game will be broadcast on TSN in Canada.
It’s important to note that Amazon’s Prime Video owns exclusive Canadian streaming rights for select WNBA games and will air at least one Tempo game during the season — the June 25 contest between the Sparks and Tempo in Toronto. Sources said TSN has the ability to pick up WNBA games between U.S. teams — it is expected to air a healthy chunk of the WNBA games during the season — but that is dependent on the broadcaster’s schedule. Bell properties can air any games that do not fall under Prime Video’s exclusivity in Canada.
NBA TV Canada, which broadcast the Tempo’s preseason games, has the ability to air some WNBA games but Tempo games will not be part of any NBA TV Canada package.
Tempo management has repeatedly made a point to say the Tempo are Canada’s team as opposed to Toronto’s team, and there should be interest countrywide after WNBA preseason games in Toronto (2023) and Edmonton (2024) both sold out. The Tempo has already sold out its season-ticket memberships for this season. The team will play games in Montreal and Vancouver in addition to Toronto.
WNBA Canada officials said in previous conversations with SBJ that WNBA League Pass live viewers in Canada increased 115% year over year versus 2024. The league also said that more than 2.6 million Canadians tuned into a live WNBA game during the 2025 season.