More than 100 WNBA regular-season games will be broadcast each season through an 11-year media rights deal with Disney, Amazon Prime and NBC that the league announced Wednesday.
While the league didn't reveal the value, a person familiar with the deal confirmed to The Associated Press that the WNBA would receive about $200 million a year. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no official announcement has been made.
The deal will begin with the 2026 season and run through 2036, with it potentially evaluated after three years and potentially give the WNBA a chance to get even more money. The WNBA's deal was announced shortly after the NBA's.
“Partnering with Disney, Amazon and NBCU marks a monumental chapter in WNBA history and clearly demonstrates the significant rise in value and the historic level of interest in women’s basketball,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “These agreements allow the league to continue to build a long-term and sustainable growth model for the future of women’s basketball and sports which will benefit WNBA players, teams and fans.”
The deal also will make the broadcast partners responsible for production and marketing commitments, meaning the roughly.$200 million a year is purely for media rights.
The league's current media deal is valued at about $60 million per year. The NBA, which owns about 60% of the WNBA, has negotiated the new deals.
Under the new agreements, the partners will distribute more than 125 regular season and playoff games nationally each year. There will be 25 regular-season games on Disney platforms, 50 on NBC and 30 on Prime Video.
The playoffs will be split among the three groups. Disney, which owns ABC and ESPN, will broadcast two of the first-round series, and NBC and Prime Video will each get one. The semis and finals will rotate over the 11-year deal, with Disney having eight semis and five finals. Prime and NBC each will have seven of the semifinal series and three finals.
“We’re proud of our highly productive and collaborative partnership with the WNBA since the league’s inception in 1997,” said ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro. “Through our marquee collection of rights, which includes the WNBA Finals, we will continue to play an important role in the league’s extraordinary growth trajectory while fueling ESPN’s digital future and super-serving fans as only we can.”
The new revenue could greatly increase player salaries, which have been an issue for many years. Since the league was founded in 1997, players have gone overseas to supplement their incomes. The top base salary this year is $242,000, with players potentially earning over half a million through salary, marketing agreements and bonuses. Caitlin Clark makes $76,000 as the No. 1 pick in the draft.
The league has had a deal with Amazon Prime since 2021 and is showing 21 games this season on the streaming service.
The WNBA also has broadcast deals with ION and CBS that run through 2025 and could be renewed after they expire, potentially bringing in at least $60 million annually. The ION deal is worth $13 million a year right now.
The league has had incredible ratings over the past two seasons, including seeing the All-Star Game last weekend draw 3.4 million viewers, making it the third most-viewed event in the league's history. It was the 17th WNBA game this season that has had more than 1 million viewers, with Clark appearing in 15 of them.
The WNBA is expanding to 14 teams over the next two seasons, with the Golden State Valkyries starting play next year and a franchise in Toronto beginning in 2026.
When news of the deal first came to light last week, the player's union had concerns that the league is being undervalued.
“We have wondered for months how the NBA would value the WNBA in its media rights deal,” executive director of the union Terri Jackson said in a statement. “With a reportedly $75 billion deal on the table, the league is in control of its own destiny. More precisely, the NBA controls the destiny of the WNBA.”
“We look forward to learning how the NBA arrived at a $200 million valuation — if initial reports are accurate or even close. Neither the NBA nor the WNBA can deny that in the last few years, we have seen unprecedented growth across all metrics, the players continue to demonstrate their commitment to building the brand, and that the fans keep showing up. There is no excuse to undervalue the WNBA again.”
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
Doug Feinberg, The Associated Press
