Ding!
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is back and will hold its finals Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET in National Harbor, Maryland.
The 2023 Bee will mark the second year the competition has returned to an in-person event. The pandemic caused the cancellation of the 2020 event, and the 2021 event was held remotely.
On Thursday, a champion from a field of 231 spellers ages 9 to 14 will emerge. But to watch will require some effort. The Bee isn’t as easy to find as it once was, but below are the many ways to watch the finals.
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How can I live stream 2023 Spelling Bee?
Scripps’ national networks, ION and Bounce, will air the finals.
When is the Scripps Spelling Bee on TV?
The 2023 Spelling Bee finals will be from 8-10 p.m. ET on Thursday, June 1.
Can I watch the 2023 Spelling Bee on TV?
Yes. ION is available free over the air. ION is also available through YouTube TV, freevee, Roku channel and fuboTV.
The finals will also air on Scripps’ other national entertainment networks Defy TV, Grit, ION Mystery and Laff.
Why isn’t the Spelling Bee on ESPN anymore?
The Bee and ESPN were partners for 27 years, but Scripps brought the production in-house last year. The Bee used to run up against the start of the NBA Finals (which begin Thursday on ABC), causing scheduling conflicts, head judge Mary Brooks told USA TODAY in 2022.
What were the ratings for the 2022 Spelling Bee on ION?
Scripps said the 2022 Bee was the most-watched since 2015. The live finals broadcast reached 3.7 million viewers between four channels (ION, Bounce, Laff and TrueReal). The semifinals the previous day set a record with 3.1 million viewers.
Who is going to win the 2023 Spelling Bee?
Forty-nine of the spellers competed in a previous Bee. Two of last year’s finalists, Kirsten Tiffany Santos (Houston) and Surya Kapu (Salt Lake City), both tied for fifth.
Who won the 2022 Spelling Bee?
Harini Logan, a 14-year-old from San Antonio, Texas, won the 2022 competition. The finals featured the first-ever spell-off, a 90-second tiebreaker to determine a champion. The rule debuted in 2021 so as to eliminate the possibility of multiple winners (eight champions were declared in 2019) and finish the competition in a timely manner.
Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.
