Great news for Hockey East today, as CBS announced a streaming deal with the conference. An exclusive slate of games will air on CBS All Access this winter. CBS All Access is available all over. You can stream it on iOS devices, Android devices, Apple TV, FireTV, Xbox One and so much more. It’s very easy to access.
As a result, this deal will make the games more accessible for fans around the country to watch some of the best athletes in the NCAA. Hockey East action is now at the tip of your fingers. You can make the argument that the team is as easy to access as ever…..well, the men’s game that is.
See, here’s the issue, there isn’t a single women’s game listed on the schedule of games promoted by the network. As of now, it appears there will not be a single women’s game broadcast on CBS All Access. That is immensely disappointing.
Now, select games will be available on SportsLive, but once again a network has pushed women’s sports to the back-burner. The argument will be the typical one, we’re sure. “There isn’t a market for women’s college hockey” and “the men draw more” are the usual retorts when something like this happens. It is simply not true. There is a market for women’s college hockey, especially in the northeast.
You could make the argument that Women’s Hockey East is actually the best conference in women’s college hockey. Three top ten teams (Northeastern, Boston College, Boston University) and a host of Olympians play in the conference. The men’s side, as good as it is, doesn’t have that.
I’m not putting the men’s game down. I enjoy the Men’s Hockey East immensely and watch quite a few games a year. Here’s the thing though, right now networks are putting the men on a pedestal and almost ignoring the women. It’s not right, and quite frankly it needs to be called out.
The exposure of being on CBS All Access is great for the sport and for the men. It’s a product that should be out there and should be more assailable. You won’t get an argument from me on that. What you will get an argument from me on is that the women don’t get that same access. Their product deserves just as much attention.
As mentioned above, the women will have select games broadcast on Sportslive. That’s great, but they’ve been put on the secondary streaming service yet again. Once again, the women’s game is treated like it is a lesser entity. It isn’t right.
CBS dropped the ball here. Not promoting the women’s game and not airing the women’s game on CBS All Access is a big misstep. Hopefully the network realizes this and gives these extremely talented women the platform they deserve.
Come on CBS, where are the women’s games?
