Caitlin Clark's WNBA debut will be streamed live on Disney+.

• The Indiana Fever's breakout star, Caitlin Clark, will make her debut as point guard in the WNBA regular season on Tuesday night.
• Disney+ will broadcast its first live sports event, the game.
• During its fiscal second quarter, Disney's streaming unit came close to achieving profitability for the first time, with sports streaming being a key driver of viewership.

The Indiana Fever's breakout star, Caitlin Clark, will make her debut as point guard in the WNBA regular season on Tuesday night. The game will be live-streamed on Disney+, marking the service's first live sports event.

The Women's March Madness National Championship game last month drew a record 18.9 million viewers, thanks in part to the NCAA's all-time leading scorer, Clark, who helped boost viewership. The former Iowa star was drafted as the No.1 pick on April 15, which alone led 2.45 million viewers to tune in, surpassing the league's previous high for a draft by 307%.

The Phoenix Mercury vs. Las Vegas Aces matchup will be streamed on Disney+ following Clark's debut at 7:30 pm ET against the Connecticut Sun.

Last week, the company reported that its streaming unit nearly turned a profit for the first time during its fiscal second quarter, with sports streaming being increasingly relied upon to boost viewership.

In fall 2025, ESPN, owned by Disney, will offer a direct-to-consumer streaming service, allowing subscribers to access ESPN content without a cable subscription.

In February, the companies announced that they were partnering with and to launch a sports streaming service this fall.

The exclusive TV rights for NBA games are currently being negotiated between Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery.

The WNBA's current media rights deal will expire in 2025, and it is estimated to be worth around $60 million. Commissioner Engelbert anticipates that the value of the rights will double during the next negotiation.

The WNBA's debut on Tuesday could be a "watershed moment for the league," and the decision to have the game on Disney+ will be crucial for the league's "key demographic" of families and younger people, according to Patrick Rishe, director of the Sports Business Program at Washington University's Olin Business School.

According to Rishe, younger fans prefer streaming sports, and this is how they view their sports these days.

Rishe noted that Caitlin Clark's potential and power are similar to Lionel Messi's impact on the soccer industry, specifically with Major League Soccer's 10-year deal with Messi and Apple TV's streaming deal with the league.