OT: WNBA and CBS sign multi-year TV deal

[LadyStanley]

WNBA and CBS Sports Agree To Multi-Year Television Partnership - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA

40 games/year (~20% of games). Primetime and weekends. CBS Sports network.

No $$s mentioned.

(Season is 34 games long/team. 12 teams. 204 games.)

Click to read more...

 

[LadyStanley]

CBS Sports, WNBA Strike TV Deal

Those 40 games are in addition to ABC/ESPN games (who have the playoffs)

WNBA games are already available in various arrangements with ESPN, NBA TV, WNBA League Pass and Twitter. ESPN, which has presented games since the launch of the league in 1997, will present 16 regular-season games across ESPN2 , ESPN and ABC,and will once again serve as home for the league’s post-season play.

 

[tony d]

Interesting, it's a league that's been around since 1997 but I don't know if I've watched a full game. Be interesting to see how many fans this contract will gain the league.

 

[IU Hawks fan]

"Filler Programming Network acquires Filler Programming"

 

[Dirty Old Man]

"Filler Programming Network acquires Filler Programming"

Yeah, it's weird how NBCSN has all these relatively 'niche'-y sports I watch: NHL, IndyCar, F1 (until last year), English Premier League, Cycling...while CBSSN has.....nothing I ever watch. Second tier conference college sports, lacrosse, arena football, the late not-so-great AAF, minor league and taped foreign auto racing (ARCA, sprint cars, sports cars, BTCC, DTM, etc.)...and now this.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Them not releasing the dollar amount is probably telling that it's not very much for the WNBA. Leagues usually can't wait to scream from the mountops how much money they just landed after TV deals are signed.

 

[IU Hawks fan]

I think their programming budget is almost nothing. AAF was probably a time buy.

 

[Jonas1235]

if they don't release financials then it's probably a really small amount.

 

[rabinsurance]

I wouldn't be shocked if it was a time buy.

 

[GindyDraws]

Yeah, it's weird how NBCSN has all these relatively 'niche'-y sports I watch: NHL, IndyCar, F1 (until last year), English Premier League, Cycling...while CBSSN has.....nothing I ever watch. Second tier conference college sports, lacrosse, arena football, the late not-so-great AAF, minor league and taped foreign auto racing (ARCA, sprint cars, sports cars, BTCC, DTM, etc.)...and now this.

Not even the indoor box lacrosse that people are attending games and seeing more than ever; the outdoor kind that you're surprised has a league. Shoot, that league just lost 1/3rd of its teams three weeks ago.

 

[HisIceness]

I think the WNBA has turned off a lot of people with their demands for higher pay. I don't know their salary situation but surely they're not starving for cash like many in this country and they only work for about 4 months out of the year.

I wouldn't be surprised if they fold outright in the next 2 years. This contract with CBS is good for them but they need to market themselves better if they want to survive long-term. You can't demand higher pay when the demand isn't that great to begin with and be surprised that potential customers get turned off because of said demands.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

I think the WNBA has turned off a lot of people with their demands for higher pay. I don't know their salary situation but surely they're not starving for cash like many in this country and they only work for about 4 months out of the year.

I wouldn't be surprised if they fold outright in the next 2 years. This contract with CBS is good for them but they need to market themselves better if they want to survive long-term. You can't demand higher pay when the demand isn't that great to begin with and be surprised that potential customers get turned off because of said demands.

False. A lot of them during WNBA go abroad and play in foreign leagues to supplement their incomeZ

 

[joelef]

I think the WNBA has turned off a lot of people with their demands for higher pay. I don't know their salary situation but surely they're not starving for cash like many in this country and they only work for about 4 months out of the year.

I wouldn't be surprised if they fold outright in the next 2 years. This contract with CBS is good for them but they need to market themselves better if they want to survive long-term. You can't demand higher pay when the demand isn't that great to begin with and be surprised that potential customers get turned off because of said demands.

thats when the whole equality things goes off the rails

 

[nickp91]

I remember in the early days of the WNBA when Cynthia Cooper was leading the Comets they had deals with NBC Lifetime and ESPN And Cynthia Cooper had everybody raising the roof