The WNBA has finalized what will seemingly be the last of its media rights deals for at least the next couple of years.
On Wednesday, Paramount announced that it has reached a new “long-term” media rights agreement with the WNBA, under which CBS will broadcast up to 20 regular-season games each season, beginning in 2026. The announcement described the deal as an expansion of a partnership that now dates back seven years. The exact length and financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The agreement should be considered a big win for the WNBA as compared to its previous deal with Paramount. Under the old terms, CBS aired just eight games on its broadcast network while 12 games were relegated to the little-watched CBS Sports Network. Now, all 20 games will be available on CBS and Paramount+.
CBS’s lead WNBA team of play-by-play voice Jordan Kent, analyst Isis “Ice” Young, and sideline reporter Tiffany Blackmon return for the 2026 season. The WNBA Tip Off Show, CBS’s WNBA pregame program, will see host Jenny Dell and analyst Lisa Leslie join returning analyst Renee Montgomery.
With the completion of this deal, it appears that the WNBA has sold most or all of the remaining national inventory not accounted for in the NBA’s 11-year media rights agreements. As a reminder, the vast majority of the WNBA’s national media rights inventory was sold in tandem with the NBA deals to the same three partners: ESPN, NBC, and Prime Video. Those three partners, plus NBC spinoff company Versant, hold all of the WNBA’s postseason inventory, with the WNBA Finals rotating each year.
However, the WNBA was left some regular-season inventory to sell on the open market, separate from the NBA deals, which run through 2036. Along with CBS, the WNBA has also re-upped a deal with Scripps’ Ion for Friday night regular-season games and forged a new 11-year pact with Versant, which will air a package of at least 50 games on USA Network each year.
It’s possible, perhaps even likely, that over time the WNBA will be able to sell larger packages on the open market. The league is in the midst of adding five new expansion teams, and could expand the regular season from 44 games to 50 by next season. That creates a substantial amount of new inventory to either expand its current agreements or entice a different buyer with more games.
Whatever the case, between the league finalizing a new collective bargaining agreement last week and reaching the last of its long-term media rights deals this week, the WNBA’s future looks much clearer now than it did just a short time ago.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.