ESPN was insistent on keeping rights to the NBA Finals in its looming extension with the league, but as far as the WNBA is concerned, the network is taking a different tack.
ESPN president of content Burke Magnus said on the latest edition of the Richard Deitsch Sports Media Podcast that the network sees “upside” in having other broadcasters involved in carrying the WNBA Finals. He indicated that the Finals will continue to be “a component” of ESPN’s deal, but suggested that alternating years with other rightsholders would be “a good thing for the ultimate continued growth and development and interest in the league.”
ESPN has carried the WNBA Finals exclusively since 2003 and previously shared the event with NBC — and sometimes Lifetime — on-and-off from 1997-2002. It has exclusively aired the entire WNBA Playoffs since 2016.
To be sure, the WNBA Finals has not been much of a ratings draw in the ESPN era. No Finals game has averaged a million viewers since 2003, and last year’s series — the most-watched since that 2003 edition — did not have a single game reach even the 900,000 mark.
While Magnus suggested ESPN is motivated by the league’s best interests, it is worth noting that neither the Finals or playoffs are particularly convenient to air, taking place during one of the busiest times on the sporting calendar in September and October. ESPN and the WNBA have often had to engage in creative scheduling to make sure every playoff game airs on an ESPN linear platform.
Yet given the number of viewership records the WNBA has sent just in Caitlin Clark’s first six weeks in the league, it seems reasonable to expect the WNBA postseason to become a much more desirable property in the near-to-medium term.
The majority of the WNBA’s national media rights, including the playoffs and Finals, are part of the NBA media rights package currently being negotiated. The NBA’s expected partners are Disney, Amazon and Comcast, two of which already carry WNBA games. Comcast is the exception, but its NBC broadcast network carried WNBA games from 1997-02 and to this day owns the ten largest audiences in league history. John Ourand of Puck reported earlier this month that NBC is poised to pick up a “significant” WNBA package in the new deal.
While the WNBA has the ability to make deals separately from the NBA, and has done so with ION, CBS and Amazon, any Finals rotation would almost certainly be between the NBA’s expected partners. NBC, which has lost IndyCar and will air fewer NASCAR races on its broadcast network starting next season, figures to have some availability on fall weekends.
