1 month ago
Napheesa Collier, #24 of the Minnesota Lynx, scores the game-winning basket during the game against the New York Liberty in Game 1 of the 2024 WNBA Finals at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Oct. 10, 2024.
Nathaniel S. Butler | Basketball Association | Getty Images
Warner Bros. Discovery is ensuring pro basketball will stay on TNT Sports.
Unrivaled, the new and upcoming pro women's basketball league, signed an exclusive, multiyear media rights deal to air its games on TNT and truTV, as well as streaming platform Max. Terms of the deal were undisclosed.
The three-on-three league was co-founded earlier this year by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty and Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx as the popularity of women's sports — basketball in particular — rises.
The WNBA got a lift this season from rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese — with big increases in regular season attendance and viewership. That has carried through to the postseason and most recently the Finals, which feature both Collier and Stewart. That has even translated to changes to the WNBA's season next year, which will expand from 40 games to 44 games, and its Final series from five games to seven games.
Unrivaled will operate in a new format and in the months before the WNBA season, allowing athletes another option to play basketball in the U.S. during the offseason, rather than having to play overseas. It will also give players equity in the new league, and feature contract opportunities that will offer the highest average salary in women's pro sports league history.
Reese and other top WNBA players have confirmed they will play in the new league, along with Stewart and Collier.
Beginning Jan. 17, there will be more than 45 primetime regular season matchups airing across TNT Sports platforms during the season. Games will be featured on TNT Sports' platforms three nights a week, including two games a week on TNT on Mondays and Fridays, and additional broadcasts on truTV on Saturdays, according to the release.
Unrivaled highlights and other content will be also be available on other TNT platforms such as Bleacher Report and House of Highlights.
Unlike other sports leagues, Unrivaled's games will air solely across TNT Sports rather than having various partners.
"I think consistency is key for us. If you build a consistent home, the fans know where to go," said Alex Bazzell, Unrivaled president. "The second side of this is you want to partner with someone who wants to tell the story outside of the games and help push that forward. So them having Bleacher Report and House of Highlights ... is pretty valuable for us."
The heightened interest in the WNBA led to the league's most recent media rights deal being valued at $2.2 billion for 11 seasons, CNBC previously reported. The WNBA's media rights deal is negotiated as part of the NBA's agreement.
The NBA's recent 11 year, $77 billion media rights deal — which begins in the 2025-2026 season — with Amazon, Disney's ESPN and Comcast's NBCUniversal saw the end of a nearly 40-year relationship with Warner Bros. Discovery's Turner Sports. Warner Bros. Discovery has sued the NBA in a bid to maintain its rights.
The media rights deal with Unrivaled gives Turner Sports the opportunity to keep basketball on its air if it is not successful in its lawsuit.
Unrivaled and TNT Sports will partner with Mediapro North America for audio and TV production.
Star broadcaster and NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley recently said he wouldn't leave TNT Sports even if the company doesn't have NBA media rights in the future. Barkley is part of TNT Sports' popular "Inside the NBA" program.
TNT Sports will develop the pregame, postgame and other studio content, but specific talent has yet to be decided upon, spokespeople for Turner and Unrivaled said.
TNT Sports has recently beefed up its roster — which already includes Major League Baseball and the Hockey League — with some college football playoff games and The French Open, among other sports.
Star investor lineup
The new league has a hot lineup of investors, which will now also include TNT Sports.
In the Wednesday announcement, Unrivaled said it has "sustained stability and financial security for all players and stakeholders through at least 2028."
When Unrivaled was announced earlier this year, it had just closed on a seed fund rounding and its investors included media executives such as former ESPN President John Skipper, ex-Turner President David Levy, and former Warner Bros. CEO Ann Sarnoff. The investors also included athletes like former NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony and others who invested through the venture capital firm led by Alex Morgan, the recently retired star and captain of the U.S women's national soccer team.
Levy, who invested through his Horizon Sports & Experiences, and Skipper spearheaded the media rights discussions.
TNT Sports has also agreed to invest an undisclosed amount in Unrivaled's latest funding round, which is expected to close in coming weeks.
The investment fits in with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav's interest in doing sports deals that include ownership of intellectual property, which was earlier reported by CNBC.
