TNT Sports signs WNBA deal
April 9, 2024
TNT Sports and the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) have announced a multi-year deal to air WNBA games in the UK and Ireland.
Fans will be able to watch at least 16 regular-season WNBA games each season live and on-demand via TNT Sports and discovery+ as the 12 teams battle it out for the WNBA Championship. TNT Sports’ WNBA coverage tips off on May 15th (BST) with last year’s runners-up the New York Liberty, led by 2023 MVP Breanna Stewart, 2021 league MVP Jonquel Jones and 2023 All-WNBA Second Team selection Sabrina Ionescu, travelling to the nation’s capital to take on the Washington Mystics, featuring two-time WNBA All-Star Ariel Atkins and 2023 WNBA All-Defensive First Team selection Brittney Sykes.
TNT Sports will broadcast weekend WNBA games in primetime during the regular season. In addition to regular-season games, TNT Sports will broadcast select games from the WNBA Playoffs, WNBA Finals and the annual WNBA All-Star Game.
To complement live game coverage, throughout the season TNT Sports’ digital and social platforms will also provide fans with weekly WNBA highlight.
Trojan Paillot, SVP Sports Rights Acquisitions and Syndication at Warner Bros Discovery Europe, said: “We are delighted to show the elite athletes that star in the WNBA beginning with the 2024 season, strengthening our women’s sport offering in the UK and Ireland which already includes Premiership Women’s Rugby, UEFA Women’s Champions League football, and Women’s UFC. The opportunity to broadcast the WNBA is another step to reflecting the diversity of our audience, while at the same time complementing our current basketball rights such as the NBA.”
Colie Edison, Chief Growth Officer at WNBA, added: “We are thrilled to collaborate with TNT Sports to bring the excitement of the WNBA to fans in the UK and Ireland. There is incredible momentum around women’s basketball in the region, and now fans will be able to more easily follow their favorite WNBA teams and players throughout the season.”
In October 2023, TNT Sports and the NBA announced a multiyear broadcast collaboration to deliver more than 250 live games and a range of NBA programming to fans in the UK and Ireland, including the Emirates NBA Cup (formerly the In-Season Tournament), the NBA Playoffs, the Finals and NBA All-Star.