The three-time champions will stream every locally broadcast game direct to fans starting August 2026, built on Cleeng's Subscriber Retention Management (SRM®) platform.
LAS VEGAS / AMSTERDAM – August 27, 2026 – The Las Vegas Aces, the reigning WNBA champions and three-time title winners (2022, 2023, 2025), and one of the most valuable franchises in the league, announced the launch of their first owned direct-to-consumer streaming service built on Cleeng's full SRM® suite.
The new service, developed in partnership with systems integrator Raw Engineering and streamed on Dolby OptiView's video platform, will stream Aces locally broadcast games directly to fans across Las Vegas, Reno, and parts of Utah beginning in Q3 2026. Fan identity and sign-on are powered by AXS.
A championship franchise, building a new business mid-season
The Aces are standing up their first owned streaming business in the middle of a title-defense season. The service will let fans follow the reigning champions directly, without relying on a broadcast partner, while the front office keeps its focus on the team on the court.
To do it without adding significant headcount, the Aces chose Cleeng's full SRM® suite to run the operational layer behind the product:
- Subscriber management and billing handle seasonal passes, mid-season pauses, and gifting – the buying patterns specific to sports fandom.
- Payments, tax, and compliance run through Cleeng as Merchant of Record, which takes on payment processing, sales tax, and PCI liability.
- Predictive churn analytics show the Aces which subscribers are at risk from day one of launch, not a season later.
- AI-enhanced customer care resolves the majority of subscriber questions automatically and routes the rest to human agents.
“We are always trying to find ways to connect with our fans and provide ample opportunity to livestream or rewatch our games,” Aces President and General Manager Nikki Fargas said. “The Aces constantly aim to push the envelope on any digital experience, and this is no different. This is a defining moment for our franchise as the WNBA’s growth is as expansive as ever and Aces Live allows us to remove barriers and further grow the game.”
"The Aces have set the standard for what a modern sports franchise can be – three championships in four years, and one of the most engaged fanbases in the league," said Gilles Domartini, CEO and founder of Cleeng. "Now they're setting the standard off the court too, building a direct relationship with their fans. We're proud they chose Cleeng to make that possible."
Building the business behind the broadcast
Launching a first-of-its-kind D2C product mid-season meant the Aces needed the operational pieces – entitlements, multi-store reconciliation, tax, PCI compliance, dunning and customer support – solved quickly and without new headcount. Rather than stitch that together around a standalone payment gateway, the Aces chose a single partner to run all of it, letting the team launch a professional-grade streaming product on a compressed timeline.
About the Las Vegas Aces
One of the WNBA’s original franchises, the Las Vegas Aces trace their lineage to the Beehive State where they began life as the Utah Starzz in 1997. The franchise relocated to San Antonio in 2003, before moving to the Sports & Entertainment Capital of the World prior to the 2018 season. Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis purchased the team in 2021, and Aces fans were rewarded with back-to-back WNBA Championships in 2022 and 2023, becoming the first WNBA team in more than two decades to repeat as champions. The 2022 team also became the first major professional sports franchise to bring a championship to the state of Nevada. In 2025, the Aces ran it back, earning their third WNBA title in four years.
In addition to the success the Aces have had on the court, they have been equally successful in their off-court endeavors. In March 2022, the team moved into a 50,000 square foot headquarters—the first complex built solely for use by a WNBA team. In March 2024, Las Vegas became the first WNBA franchise to sell out its season ticket allotment as well as the first to sell out the entirety of the season. The Aces again sold out their season ticket memberships in 2025 and 2026, and on May 23 Las Vegas hosted its 50th consecutive sellout at Michelob ULTRA Arena, a number that is up to 60 and expected to increase throughout the season.
About Cleeng
The Las Vegas Aces partnership marks Cleeng's continued expansion into North American professional sports. Cleeng is a Subscriber Retention Management (SRM®) platform and Merchant of Record for companies that monetize content and operate subscription businesses, including OTT streaming, broadcast, media, and sports rights holders. Cleeng's SRM® suite (Core, ChurnIQ, Hi5, and Merchant) helps subscription businesses manage entitlements, reduce churn, automate support, and handle payments, tax, and compliance under a single partner.
