Connecticut Sun forward Brionna Jones (left) and Los Angeles Sparks forward Cameron Brink (22) fight for the ball during a WNBA game between the Sparks and the Sun on June 18, 2024, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT.
Anthony Nesmith | Icon Sportswire | Getty Images
The WNBA’s new media rights deal includes a re-evaluation of prices after the 2028 season to account for the league’s growing popularity, according to people familiar with the agreement.
The WNBA deal was negotiated within a broader $77 billion NBA agreement with media partners announced earlier this week. The WNBA-specific contract is worth $2.2 billion over 11 seasons, an average of $200 million per year.
The NBA's new trio of partners — Disney, NBC Universal and Amazon — did not assign specific values to the WNBA as part of their initial bids for game packages (worth $2.6 billion, $2.5 billion and $1.8 billion, respectively), according to the people familiar with the matter, who asked not to speak publicly because the details are private.
Instead, the NBA worked with Endeavor Group The media consulting team, led by Karen Brodkin and Hillary Mandel, assessed the value of the WNBA rights, the people said. Endeavor’s recommendation valued the rights at about $125 million per year, the people said.
The NBA pushed for more money for the women’s league, given the infusion of interest fueled by star rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, and ultimately convinced its media partners to commit an average of $200 million per year to the league, according to the people.
Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon have agreed to reevaluate that value after the 2028 season, the people said, with the $200 million-per-year cost serving as a floor value for the league rights.
The league will again work with a third party to evaluate a potential increase in rights, based on television ratings, expansion and potential changes to the length of the regular season or playoffs, the people said. Media partners are not required to pay more based on the conclusion of the reevaluation but will be incentivized to do so, the people said.
Just over halfway through its current season, the WNBA has already had 16 nationally televised games surpass the 1 million viewer mark, a league record.
“We've seen our highest attendance in 26 years to open the season and have repeatedly broken audience records,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said last week. “Many of our teams have achieved triple-digit attendance numbers.”
The WNBA will also have the opportunity to raise additional revenue by signing outside deals with other media companies, including local broadcast station groups such as Scripps and Ion, and participating in a share of advertising revenue if certain metrics are met, according to people familiar with the deals. The outside media deals could generate another $60 million in annual revenue, according to league estimates.
— CNBC's Lillian Rizzo and Jess Golden contributed to this report.
Divulgation: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.
WATCH: New Balance CEO talks WNBA deal and developing as a sports brand
