WNBA union left out of media rights negotiations despite efforts for inclusion

The WNBA has found unprecedented growth this season and last, largely on the back of Indiana Fever phenom Caitlin Clark and a handful of other young stars. As such, the league’s players union wanted something unprecedented in return: a seat at the table during media rights negotiations.

That plea fell on deaf ears, according to a recent report by Colin Salao in Front Office Sports. Per a report last month in The Athletic, the union said they were “hopeful” to be included in upcoming media rights negotiations and believed commissioner Cathy Engelbert “seemed inclined to do that.”

But after the league announced a new deal with Scripps Sports’ Ion last week, an agreement that will see the network continue its package of Friday night doubleheaders, a union source told Front Office Sports that the WNBPA was not included in the league’s negotiations with the network.

Unions are not typically party to media rights negotiations between leagues and television networks, but given that the WNBA’s newfound popularity has resulted in massive viewership increases, which usually translate to more lucrative television contracts, the WNBPA requested involvement given it will negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the league following this season.

Currently, the majority of the WNBA’s media rights are accounted for in the new NBA media rights agreements that begin next season. ESPN, Amazon, and NBC will all get WNBA packages as part of the new deals. However, the league is still able to go to market with the remainder of its inventory. Ion is currently the only network to hold WNBA rights for next season outside of the three NBA partners, though it’s likely the league will look to also renew a partnership with CBS Sports, which has seen successful returns on its WNBA telecasts thus far this season.

It’s unclear whether the WNBPA would be involved in any potential negotiations with CBS Sports (or another media partner), though the union is reportedly “hopeful” it will be included.

For the WNBPA, this year’s upcoming CBA negotiations will be the most critical in the league’s history. With media revenue set to skyrocket over the term of the NBA’s 11-year agreements, players will be looking to secure a larger piece of the pie. Inclusion in future media rights negotiations would provide the union more information and transparency when negotiating its next CBA with the league.