With this year’s WNBA draft picks ushering in a new era for the league, attention has turned to the following media rights deal.
Now we have the answer and, more importantly, the numbers of the new deal. On the surface, it’s an 11-year, $75B deal with Disney, NBC, and Amazon. That’s $200M annually. Under the current agreement, the league receives $50M annually. This deal has the potential to reshape the WNBA’s media landscape.
But as the saying goes, the devil is in the detail. In this case, the “devil” could be good for the WNBA.
The deal allows the WNBA to bring in additional partners, and according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, it could bring in an extra $60M.
If the WNBA feels like the league has outpaced the agreement in the first three seasons, it can engage in good-faith talks with its media partners after three seasons.
