As the WNBA broadens its reach this season with seven national distribution partners and a record 216 national broadcasts, it is going all-in on its golden goose, the Indiana Fever.
With a new collective bargaining agreement in place, two new expansion franchises beginning play, and multiple young stars drawing national attention, the 2026 season is a new beginning for the WNBA. The league will air a record 216 games across ESPN/ABC, CBS, Prime Video, Ion, NBC/Peacock, USA Network and NBA TV this season after joining in on the NBA’s 11-year broadcast rights deal and extending existing deals that have had the league on an upward viewership trajectory for several years running.
The national schedule includes all 44 Indiana Fever games, guaranteeing that Caitlin Clark and Co. will remain front-and-center for fans in an arrangement that calls to mind NBC and WGN’s embrace of Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls at the height of their run in the 1990s.
The WNBA also announced the details of each distributor’s slate:
Ion: With its signature Friday-night doubleheaders, the Scripps-owned broadcast network will air 50 games this season, the most of any WNBA partner.
USA Network: The Versant-owned network, which has invested heavily in sports since spinning off from NBC Universal last year, will air 48 games, primarily on Monday and Wednesday nights.
Notably, the WNBA also announced that while television distribution of Finals games this season will be split between NBC and USA Network due to the spinoff of Versant, Peacock will air each game on streaming.
Prime Video: The Amazon-owned streamer will air 31 games this year, including the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup championship game, which it has aired each of the past six seasons.
ESPN/ABC: As with their NBA deal, the Disney-owned networks are paring back their inventory this season with just 30 games split across ESPN (17) and ABC (13). However, ABC will tip off the season with a double-header starting as the Fever host Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings, followed by a Finals rematch between the Aces and Mercury in Las Vegas. Later in the season, the WNBA will feature heavily in ESPN’s new Women’s Sports Sundays window.
NBC/Peacock: The NBC Universal-owned partners will stick with its schedule from the NBA season, with NBC airing seven games on Sundays and Peacock adding 12 on Mondays. Two of the NBC games (July 12 and Aug. 23), both featuring the Fever, will air in primetime.
CBS/Paramount+: The Paramount Skydance-owned partners will air 20 total games, including eight primetime windows on CBS’ broadcast network.
NBA TV: The league-owned network will air 15 WNBA games this season.
With this national schedule, the WNBA largely embraces the combination of broadcast television and streaming that is increasingly popular across sports, blanketing the week in primetime while centering Indiana and other marquee teams.
The season tips off Friday, May 8 on Ion.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.