CBS Sports, the Paramount-owned US sports network, has expanded its long-running broadcast deal with the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) ahead of the upcoming 2026 season.
Under an enhanced long‑term, multiplatform rights package, CBS Sports will air up to 20 regular‑season games annually on the linear CBS Television Network and live on the Paramount+ streaming service.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The 20-game slate for the 2026 season will mark the most WNBA games ever shown by the network on broadcast television.
In addition, the network’s live coverage will include a pregame, halftime, and postgame studio show that will expand to support 10 matchups, including six shows airing on CBS and Paramount+ and four digital-exclusive editions available via CBS Sports HQ.
The new deal builds on a seven-year partnership between CBS and the league.
Dan Weinberg, executive vice president of programming at CBS Sports, said: “The WNBA’s growth and cultural impact have never been stronger, and CBS Sports is proud to deepen our longstanding partnership with a league that continues to drive the evolution of women’s sports.
“With our entire schedule of games on broadcast television, we are broadening the league’s reach and amplifying the WNBA’s momentum with best‑in‑class coverage that reflects the excellence of its athletes and resonates with fans.”
As well as CBS, WNBA rights in the US are held by major sports broadcaster ESPN, media companies Versant and Scripps, and streaming giant Amazon Prime Video.
The WNBA recently announced the terms of its preliminary collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the WNBPA labor union, ending a potential lockout of the 2026 season.
Beginning with the upcoming campaign, the new CBA will run through the 2032 season and has set the new salary cap at $7 million per team, an increase of over 400% on the previous CBA’s limit, set at $1.5 million.
The last CBA expired after the 2025 campaign, with the WNBA opting out of the final year of that agreement (which would have covered 2026) back in October 2024 in favor of entering a new negotiation period.
Negotiations were ongoing since the opt-out, but there was significant trouble in reaching a deal, with both sides at times accusing the other of refusing to engage with the process.
A lockout, effectively a delay or outright cancellation of the WNBA campaign, would have significantly halted the WNBA’s strong momentum, which has seen continued broadcast viewership growth and the addition of multiple expansion franchises.
The 2026 WNBA campaign will begin on May 8, and should avoid disruption in the fallout, despite the WNBA previously stating that a March 10 deadline was required to avoid any delay in the season tip-off.
