WNBA builds on soaring popularity with new media rights agreements

The rocketing growth of the WNBA is reflected in the league's new media rights agreements announced Wednesday for the 2026 through 2036 seasons.

Disney, which owns ABC and ESPN, and Amazon Prime Video remain partners along with a new agreement with NBCUniversal (NBCU) covering broadcast, cable and streaming distribution.

Disney will show games on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and stream them on ESPN's upcoming direct-to-consumer service. NBCU will distribute games on NBC, USA Network and/or its Peacock streaming service. Amazon will stream games on Prime Video.

The agreements -- negotiated by the NBA concurrent with talks for its new TV rights deals for 11 years valued at a reported $76 billion -- will pay the league an average of $200 million a year, and it could be more lucrative with additional media partners, The Athletic recently reported.

The current national media contracts, though the 2025 season, average about $50 million annually.

"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," WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement Wednesday. "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."

The media partners will carry more than 125 regular-season and playoff games nationally each season. There will be at least 25 regular-season games on Disney platforms, a minimum of 50 on NBCU and 30 on Prime Video.

Disney and NBCU will distribute games in some international markets, and Prime Video's global reach is more than 200 million Prime members.

"We've been partners with and believers in the WNBA over the last four seasons and could not be more excited to expand our relationship so significantly with this landmark agreement," said Jay Marine, Global Head of Sports for Prime Video. "The league's recent surge in popularity is of no surprise to us, as these incredible athletes continue to raise the bar and electrify fans. We're looking forward to providing Prime members around the world with increased access to the W's biggest events as more and more fans gravitate toward the sport."

The WNBA, in its 28th season, has broken records for viewership, attendance, merchandise sales, social media engagement, League Pass subscriptions and app downloads, the league said.

--Field Level Media