In an ever-increasing array of content choices (and increased costs) for sports fans, you can now add Versant to the list, if you are a WNBA fan.
The WNBA and Versant, the media company which will be spun out next year featuring NBCUniversal’s cable television networks including sports-oriented USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel, announced on Tuesday an 11-year media rights agreement for USA Network to present WNBA games, including the regular season and portions of the playoffs and WNBA Finals in select years.
The deal begins with the 2026 WNBA season and runs through 2036. For the years that Versant has the WNBA Finals (beginning in 2026), those games will be divided between Versant on USA Network and NBCU on NBC.
“Partnering with Versant and USA Network marks another significant milestone for the WNBA’s continued growth,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in a statement. “As demand for women’s basketball continues to rise, partnerships like this expand the visibility and accessibility of our game.”
The deal will have USA Network airing 50+ WNBA games annually, including a still-to-be-defined number of playoff games in select years. Wednesday night doubleheaders will anchor USA Network’s coverage. The company said that each broadcast night will have dedicated pregame and postgame studio programming. Versant will have its own dedicated WNBA on-air and production staff, signaling that resources are being placed into the product.
In July 2024, the WNBA announced a new 11-year media rights package, worth an average of $200 million a year, with Disney, NBC and Amazon. Earlier this year, the WNBA and Scripps reached a new multi-year agreement to continue airing WNBA regular season games on Friday nights on ION. There is increasing value in the product. Through the first 15 games, the WNBA playoffs on ESPN and ABC had averaged 1 million viewers per game, a two percent increase over 2024 and up 164 percent over 2023. The first four games of the WNBA semifinals averaged 1.3 million viewers, up 59 percent over 2024.
Versant would not comment on the deal terms. Versant is paying more in total than NBCU as part of this deal, an industry source said, when including the 2024 deal and this new inventory.
Versant is making a bet on women’s sports as part of its portfolio as they navigate a world where linear assets are declining in viewership. “We have a sort of nascent women’s sports property strategy that we are employing,” Matt Hong, the president of sports at Versant, told CNBC last month.
Versant announced in August that it signed a multi-year rights deal with League One Volleyball, and USA Network will broadcast the league’s games on Wednesday nights beginning in January 2026.
(Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)