Portland fans will not have to hunt around the dial to find their pro women’s teams anymore. FOX 12 Plus is set to become the primary TV home for the WNBA’s Portland Fire and the NWSL’s Portland Thorns, with Fire games airing on FOX 12 Plus throughout the club’s inaugural WNBA season. The deal folds in a team-branded streaming platform powered by Kiswe and new studio programming across broadcast, digital and connected-TV outlets, all billed as a way to keep games free over the air while giving diehards more interactive options online.
In a multi-year media partnership announced through a press release from Gray Media, FOX 12 Plus is designated as the regional broadcast home for both clubs. All available Portland Fire games are slated for FOX 12 Plus, with some matchups also simulcast on FOX 12 Oregon, and both game telecasts and studio shows will be produced in partnership with Raycom Sports.
What Fans Will See on TV and Streaming
The Fire are rolling out a direct-to-consumer streaming platform built with Kiswe that will carry non-nationally televised games, plus exclusive bonus content and interactive features for fans who want to go deeper than the box score. The Thorns, meanwhile, will maintain an expanded presence on FOX 12 Plus. Sports Business Journal describes the setup as “a rare local female sports hub,” pointing to the combination of traditional linear TV and a digital, interactive product.
Why It Matters Here
RAJ Sports, which owns both the Fire and the Thorns, is pitching the package as a plan to “put fans and accessibility first,” according to the announcement. The broadcast move is also tied to the new Kaiser Permanente Performance Center in Hillsboro, a 90,000-square-foot dual-purpose training complex that will serve both teams and house sports-medicine, recovery and community spaces, as reported by The Portland Tribune.
When to Tune In and How to Get Tickets
The teams say the Fire’s detailed local TV schedule will be announced later, but season-ticket membership information is already live through the club’s official channels. As outlined by Portland Fire, fans can place deposits now for season memberships, while Thorns ticket details remain available on the team’s website.
What This Could Become
Executives and industry advisers are already talking about the partnership as a possible foundation for a full-on local women’s sports network, if viewership and revenue hold up. Sports Business Journal notes that advisers have compared the model to NBA regional sports setups and suggest Portland’s market could be especially primed for this kind of women’s sports hub.
