CBS Sports signs multi-year television partnership with WNBA
CBS Sports Network will broadcast 40 games this season.
More fans will be able to watch the WNBA nationwide starting this year. The league announced a new multi-year television partnership with CBS Sports Monday morning, which will bring 40 games to the CBS Sports Network starting in 2019.
This is in addition to the partnership currently in place with ESPN to broadcast 16 regular season games on its family of networks, including three on ABC. Select games will also be broadcast on NBA TV this season.
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“Through our partnership with CBS Sports Network, the WNBA is joining an elite lineup of premium sports programming,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “We thank CBS Sports for making such a meaningful commitment to women’s basketball and for providing another platform to showcase the world-class athletes of the WNBA.”
The first game set to air on the CBS Sports Network as part of the new deal is Saturday, May 25, when the Minnesota Lynx host former assistant coach James Wade and the Chicago Sky. The Las Vegas Aces will see the most airtime on the network this season with eight appearances, including three home games. The defending WNBA Champion Seattle Storm will be on the network six times, including for a 2018 WNBA Finals rematch against the Washington Mystics on Friday, June 14, in D.C.
“We are truly excited to partner with the WNBA, bringing the country’s premier women’s sports league to CBS Sports Network. This partnership is one of the biggest and most impactful women’s sports programming arrangements ever at CBS Sports, offering national exposure of 40 games per year,” Sean McManus, Chairman of CBS Sports said in a statement. “This agreement provides great live content throughout the summer in primetime and on weekends, and aligns two great brands in the WNBA and CBS Sports. We look forward to working with the WNBA for many years to come.”
The AP reports that the CBS Sports Network will use the local broadcast feeds from the selected games to start, much like what NBA TV does during the regular season. Many fans are hoping the deal will expand in different ways, but more coverage of any kind is a good start.
The entire slate of games to be broadcast on CBS Sports Network can be found here. The network can be found on DISH Network (Ch. 158), DirecTV (Ch. 221), and on a variety of streaming services including YouTube TV and Hulu.
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