ION eyeing ‘long-term’ media rights deal with WNBA

Part of the WNBA’s recent success story from a media perspective has been the league’s partnership with Scripps’ ION broadcast network.

ION began airing a package of Friday night WNBA games in 2023 as part of the network’s entry into live sports. A year later, the network solidified itself as a premier destination for women’s sports when it began broadcasting the NWSL on Saturday nights.

It seems like ION would like to maintain that status in the future. Speaking with The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch on the Sports Media with Richard Deitsch podcast last week, Scripps Sports president Brian Lawlor discussed the network’s future intentions with the WNBA.

“We are still in our original contract with [the WNBA] for the rights to Friday nights, but our long-term expectation is we are going to be the home for the WNBA across the entire country for every game on Fridays,” Lawlor said.

The network’s Friday night WNBA package has been a huge success. Last season, ION drew seven audiences of over 1 million viewers, per Sports Media Watch. In all, the network’s WNBA telecasts averaged 670,000 viewers, a 133% increase versus 2023, no doubt lifted by Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever, who drew 19 audiences over 1 million viewers themselves.

Lawlor mentioned that, while much of the WNBA’s media rights inventory is tied into the latest set of NBA deals, the league left Friday nights alone, leaving an opening for ION to stay involved in the league. Given the reach that ION gives the WNBA with its free-to-air broadcast model, it would make sense for the league to continue its partnership with the network.

Last year’s data certainly supports the idea that fans are finding ION to watch the WNBA. Lawlor said that the network “hopes a new deal happens during this WNBA season.”

A possible ION renewal will be something to watch as the WNBA tips off in a little over one month.