The WNBA announced a historic media rights deal with broadcast providers ESPN , NBC and Amazon Prime Video, paying out $2.2 billion over the next 11 years.
Wednesday's jointly negotiated agreement, made official after the NBA ended a 40-year relationship with TNT Sports, will broadcast more than 100 games annually to national audiences and fundamentally change the way WNBA fans consume with the sport.
“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.”
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The updated media rights deal will begin in the 2026 season. Along with this proliferation of regular-season offerings, Wednesday's media rights deal also significantly alters the WNBA Playoffs' broadcast structure, which is currently provided exclusively by ESPN. NBC and Prime Video will now each receive one of the four opening rounds of postseason action, also guaranteed seven semifinal series' and three WNBA Finals.
Partners are also leaning into Engelbert's goal of globalization and advancing "key international markets." ABC and ESPN's broadcasts will be available to viewers in select markets around the world through the Disney+ app, while Amazon's offerings are available to the 220 million international Prime Video subscribers.
The WNBA also could add an additional $60 million in annual revenue as well, with The Athletic reporting ongoing W-exclusive deals with current partners CBS and Ion. Wednesday's deal also allows the WNBA to review and renegotiate after three years, with many league stakeholders believing that women's basketball's growing profile merits a much higher payout.
"I'm not great with numbers. Lowball. That's a lowball," Minnesota Lynx and Team USA coach Cheryl Miller said about the broadcast deal with ESPN, Amazon, and NBC. "Not enough. Not even close. "Now I'm not trying to inflate it a whole lot, but a two's nice.
"An eight would be better. That's what I'm talking about because they know. They know, and we certainly have come a long way. And I'm not about gouging, but it's a long time overdue and we're gonna continue getting better and better."
However, Wednesday's deal has prompted expected litigation from TNT's parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, believing they have a right to match Amazon's portion of the agreement. The NBA countered that TNT failed to match the terms of a deal, noting that the network's offer did not replicate Amazon's streaming-exclusive proposal.
“We have matched the Amazon offer, as we have a contractual right to do, and do not believe the NBA can reject it," TNT Sports wrote in a statement Wednesday. "We think they have grossly misinterpreted our contractual rights with respect to the 2025-26 season and beyond, and we will take appropriate action."
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