WNBA, ION TV Agree to Multiyear Broadcast Contract; Won't Run Past 2025 Season

The WNBA announced Thursday it reached a deal with ION to broadcast 15 Friday night games.

"The WNBA is thrilled to partner with Scripps to expand the league's media horizon and reach basketball fans in greater numbers," Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. "Access to watch WNBA games is in high demand, and Scripps' dedicated Friday night lineup of WNBA games on ION will become much desired appointment viewing for WNBA fans."

The Athletic's Mike Vorkunov noted the ION deal won't extend past the 2025 season, which aligns with the WNBA's current media rights contract with ESPN.

Viewership for women's basketball as a whole is trending upward. ESPN had its highest ratings for WNBA games since 2008 in 2022, and LSU and Iowa averaged 9.9 million viewers for their national championship clash, the highest ever for a college basketball game on ESPN's family of networks.

The timing couldn't be much better, with rights to broadcast the NCAA women's basketball tournament and WNBA games due to expire within the next few years. Both the college and pro games could transform with the increased revenue the new TV deals promise to provide.

From the WNBA's perspective, aligning with a network that doesn't have any live sports in its inventory could be a shrewd gamble.

The partnership could be the source of some mockery based on ION's usual lineup of shows and what it implies about its general viewership. The Pac-12 caught plenty of jokes when rumors surfaced of a possible deal with ION.

But there's also an advantage in being first to the pole with a company that has larger ambitions and is looking to make a big splash. Scripps CEO Adam Symson explained to Vorkunov how he wants WNBA games to feel meaningful:

"The WNBA deserves a national platform so that it can be broadcast beyond home markets. And today, it's on other platforms for sure. And I'm not knocking the commitment those other platforms have to the WNBA. They're good partners. But this partnership allows us to showcase the WNBA on a marquee night when families are gathered around the television looking for the athleticism and the competition of the WNBA. And with consistency."

And if the WNBA can consistently draw fans in big numbers to ION, then that only adds to its leverage at the negotiating table for a long-term media rights agreement.

The WNBA will announce the full slate for WNBA Friday Night Spotlight on ION at a later date.