Connecticut Sun forward Brionna Jones (left) and Los Angeles Sparks forward Cameron Brink (22) battle for possession 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 price reassessment after the 2028 season to account for the league’s growing popularity, according to people familiar with the deal.
The WNBA deal has been negotiated as part of a broader $77 billion NBA deal with media partners announced earlier this week. The contract for the WNBA is worth $2.2 billion over 11 seasons – an average of $200 million per year.
The new trio of NBA affiliates — Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon — did not give specific values to the WNBA as part of their initial offers for game packages ($2.6 billion, $2.5 billion and $1.8 billion, respectively), according to the people, who asked not to be identified speak publicly because the details are private.
Instead, the NBA partnered with Endeavor Group Media advisory group, led by Karen Brodkin and Hillary Mandel, to assess the value of WNBA rights, the people said. Endeavor’s formation valued the rights at about $125 million a year, the people said.
The NBA pushed for more money for the women’s league, given the interest in rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, and eventually convinced its media partners to allocate an average of $200 million a year to the league, according to the people. .
Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon have agreed to re-evaluate that value after the 2028 season, the people said, with the $200 million a year cost serving as a floor for the league’s rights.
The league will again work with a third party to evaluate a potential rights increase, based on ratings, expansion and potential changes during the regular season or playoffs, the people said. Media partners are not forced to pay more based on the reassessment’s conclusion, but will be incentivized to do so, the people said.
A little more than halfway through its current season, the WNBA already has 16 nationally televised games break the 1 million viewer mark — a league record.
“To open the season, we have seen our highest attendance in 26 years and have repeatedly set ratings records,” WNBA Commissioner Kathy Engelbert said last week. “Many of our teams have triple digit attendance.”
The WNBA will also have the opportunity to raise additional revenue by forging outside partnerships with other media companies, including local radio station groups such as Scripps and Ion, and participating in a share of ad revenue if certain metrics are hit, according to people familiar with the matter. the construction of an agreement. Outside media deals could bring in another $60 million in annual revenue, the league estimates.
— CNBC’s Lillian Rizzo and Jess Golden contributed to this report.
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