“Can’t Fix The Cost”: Cathy Engelbert Addresses Expensive Viewing Experience Amid WNBA’s $3.1B Media Rights Deal

But as she also said, “That’s a huge positive.” That is, the increased attention and value that live sports now carry means that leagues like the WNBA are making significantly more money from media rights deals. And of course, everything Cathy said is evident in the WNBA’s recent 11-year media rights agreement reportedly worth a massive $3.1 billion, involving partners such as Disney (ABC/ESPN), NBCUniversal (NBC/Peacock), Amazon (Prime Video), and Paramount Global (CBS), among others.

Comparing the finances to the WNBA’s previous agreement, the average annual value of the new media deal stands at roughly $281 million, which is about 6.5 times larger than the league’s previous deal. But according to Cathy, the challenge now is “making sure fans can find our games when they want to.” Because so many companies now own different broadcasting rights, games end up spread across multiple channels and streaming apps. That fragmentation can make the viewing experience confusing and expensive for fans even though it is financially beneficial for the league.

Cathy Engelbert does, however, believe that eventually some companies and services will likely merge together or bundle their offerings. In fact, according to her, that process has already started happening in parts of the media industry. As she said, “I do know there is going to have to be consolidation over time and you’ve already seen some of that consolidation.”

For Cathy, it is indeed a problem that goes beyond sports alone. Fans are not only paying for sports streaming services, cable packages, and League Pass subscriptions. They are also paying for music platforms, movie streaming services, TV apps, and several other digital subscriptions. So consumers are increasingly becoming overwhelmed by monthly payments spread across multiple platforms. In fact, Cathy herself claimed she is also a victim of it. As she said, “I think I paid for 18 subscriptions and I still haven’t cut the cable cord.”

But what do you think? Do you think this is a problem that will improve anytime soon? Or as the WNBA continues to grow, the viewing experience will only become even more fragmented and expensive for fans?

Cathy Engelbert Defends WNBA’s Expanding National Coverage Amid Fan Cost Concerns

The viewing experience has become more expensive and increasingly fragmented for fans. But it appears to be a good enough trade-off for Cathy Engelbert considering the massive growth and expanding national coverage that the WNBA is now enjoying. “Remember when I joined the league, we had 15 games on national platforms, mostly on ESPN2 and ESPNU,” Engelbert said. “This year we’ll have 216 out of 330 regular-season games on national platforms. That’s over 65% broadcast nationally.”

“While Cathy Engelbert does understand fans’ frustrations about the rising cost of watching games, the WNBA has dramatically increased its national visibility to a level that now surpasses even leagues like the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball in terms of the percentage of games broadcast nationally. As she said, “I don’t disagree with the cost point. We’re outpacing the NHL and MLB on visibility as far as percentages. That was important.”

“I think it’s important to the players that they be shown and their stories be told,” Cathy also added. For her, the WNBA is no longer just getting games televised. The league and its players are now receiving full-scale media promotion and storytelling attention from broadcasters. And that is both good and important for the growth of the league and the visibility of its players.

According to Cathy, this was not the case when she first became commissioner. Broadcasters were mostly just showing games without investing much in surrounding WNBA coverage. Now, however, every major broadcast partner is creating additional WNBA-focused content and actively marketing the league. “When I joined the league, no one was doing any shoulder programming,” she said. “Now every single broadcast partner is doing shoulder programming. They are also doing marketing of the W.”

Without doubt, the benefits the WNBA has gained from this increased national attention and media investment have been substantial. But the impact on fans has not been quite as positive. And that ultimately begs the question: is it really possible for a sports league like the WNBA to grow, expand, and increase its national reach without fans eventually bearing some of the financial burden too?

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