WNBA Secures $2.2 Billion TV Deal

The WNBA will earn an estimated $2.2 billion as part of the NBA’s multi-year deals with NBC, Amazon and Disney for broadcasting rights, according to multiple outlets, more than tripling the value of the league’s media rights amid increased demand for women’s basketball.

The new deals, spanning the next 11 seasons, will increase the value of the WNBA’s media rights from about $60 million per year to $200 million per year, a person familiar with the deal told The Washington Post on Wednesday

The league’s current media rights deals will expire after the 2025 season and the NBA—which owns about 60% of the WNBA—negotiated the WNBA’s new deals that were approved by the NBA’s board of governors Tuesday, according to The Athletic.

It’s likely the WNBA will sell two other rights packages that could bring in another $60 million annually, The Athletic reported.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert indicated earlier this year she planned to double the league’s annual revenue from its broadcasting deals as viewership increased. In recent months, the WNBA has broken several viewership records, including a game between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky that peaked at 2.3 million viewers, the most for the WNBA since 2001. 

Forbes reports the massive rise in interest in the WNBA has largely been attributed to the arrival of former Iowa Hawkeyes phenom Caitlin Clark in the league—Clark was drafted No. 1 overall this year by the Indiana Fever.