Amid a record setting season, WNBA officials say the league
is worth more than a proposed $200 million annual broadcasting
rights deal.
But despite the rating success this year, the WNBA is
still set to lose about $50 million in 2024.
Here's what's going on.
The WNBA is a subsidiary of the NBA, receiving about
$15 million every year from the men's league to cover
operating costs.
Right now, the NBA is in the process of negotiating
a multi year $75 billion media deal with NBC, Amazon
and Disney, part of which would include the WNBA receiving
$2.2 billion over the next 11 years, or 200 million
every season.
The executive director of the WNBA's player union believes that's
not enough though, saying she wondered how the NBA arrived
at this number and that there is no excuse to
undervalue their league, especially as interest in it has now
reached an all time high.
While both WNBA viewership and attendance hit historic heights this
year, that still hasn't translated to a positive revenue flow.
The media rights agreement could change that and also allow
the league to offer its players higher individual salaries.
This could potentially end the need for WNBA players to
compete overseas during the offseason to supplement their incomes.
Brittany Greiner is a notable example after she was detained
for nearly ten months in Russia while in the country
trying to play for a foreign league.
The WNBA's current broadcasting agreement is valued at $60 million
per year, set to expire at the end of the
2025 season.
Before the start of this year, the league's commissioner expressed
hope to at least double that figure, citing growth over
the last few seasons.
The deal the NBA is negotiating would exceed that goal,
more than tripling the WNBA's annual media rights revenue.
Jack Elmer.
Straight.
Arrow News.