The Business of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)

The Business of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)

Summary

An analysis of the WNBA 2024, including a look at the competitions sponsorship, attendances and tickets, media landscape, social media following, and team sponsorship analysis.

ESPN’s media rights deal with the association covers the 2016-17 to 2024-25 season, worth an estimated $27 million annually. The US national network CBS, owned by Paramount Global, also offers coverage of eight games per season on the main CBS broadcast network, with another 12 to be shown through the CBS Sports dedicated outlets. The network’s two-year deal, which commenced in 2024, has an estimated annual value of $10 million. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, TNT Sports have the media rights to broadcast at least 16 regular season games per campaign.

The 2024 WNBA’s top sponsorship deal in terms of annual value is the league’s eight-year kit supplier deal with Nike, worth $125 million annually. Emirates have the third most lucrative annual agreement in place with the league, of all the 2024 new sponsors of the WNBA. The two-and-a-half-year partnership is worth $65 million annually, which allows the airline to serve as the league's global airline partner and the title sponsor of the in-season NBA Cup competition. The smallest annual partnership for the 2024 WNBA season is Deloitte’s five-year deal, worth 0.5 million annually. The agreement allows the professional services firm to serve as the official professional services provider of the WNBA.

The annual value of the sponsorship deals that have been agreed by WNBA franchises is $54.48 million. GlobalData estimates that Phoenix Mercury will receive the most from sponsors across the 2024 season. Atlanta Dream and Seattle Storm are estimated to receive the smallest income from sponsorship partners according to GlobalData. The restaurant sector is the most prominent with 46 deals across the WNBA teams.

A detailed overview of the key facts and events which took place across the league. The report identifies the major media and sponsorship players in the market, pinpoints the ticket prices on offer.

Scope

• This report provides an overview of the competition including a sponsorship portfolio, media landscape, attendance and ticketing, social media following and team sponsorship analysis. An analysis of WNBA 2024 sponsors is included and the estimated annual values are provided. Information regarding the events ticketing and attendance figures, team profiles as well as WNBA's social media breakdown.

Reasons to Buy

• For those wanting an in-depth analysis of WNBA 2024, in the sense of both business and popularity.