WNBA Commish Wants New Media-Rights Deal to Double Old One

April 8, 2024

Cathy Engelbert is betting big on the WNBA’s next media-rights deal.

Speaking on CNBC a day after Iowa fell to undefeated South Carolina in the NCAA championship game, the WNBA commissioner is already talking up the impact Caitlin Clark will bring to her league a week before she officially joins it.

The WNBA currently earns about $60 million annually from its TV and streaming deals with Disney, Amazon Prime Video, and several other companies. It’s currently in a joint negotiation with the NBA and Walt Disney Co., which owns ABC and ESPN, but it could break off and seek its own deal, Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy reported last month. FOS