
More Basketball in Bristol: ESPN Continues NBA, WNBA Partnership With Long-Term Extension; Deal Features NBA Finals for All 11 Years, WNBA Finals for Five Years New deal runs through the 2035-36 NBA season and the 2036 WNBA season, respectively By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor
Wednesday, July 24, 2024 - 5:24 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
In a working relationship that has held strong since 2002, The Walt Disney Company and ESPN have extended their ties to the National Basketball Association and Women's National Basketball Association for another 11-year deal that'll run through the 2035-36 NBA season and the 2036 WNBA seasons, respectively. As part of the agreement, ESPN continues its longstanding position as the primary media rights partner of the NBA and the WNBA, as well as the exclusive home of the NBA's crown jewel event, the NBA Finals.
As the media landscape continues to evolve, this forward-thinking agreement represents a significant and bold step in our mission to serve sports fans, anytime, anywhere, including opportunities to successfully navigate the global digital transition, says ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro. Through a premium collection of regular- and post-season game rights, culminating with the NBA Finals and WNBA Finals, plus studio and original content initiatives, we look forward to building upon our legacy of innovation with the NBA and continuing to play an important role in the extraordinary growth trajectory of the WNBA.
ESPN's full package of NBA and WNBA live events and programming, including the championship events, will be available on ESPN's upcoming flagship direct-to-consumer platform, launching in the fall of 2025.
ESPN will also continue its rights to robust NBA Playoffs and regular-season live event packages, including the NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC series - the marquee, national game of the week. In addition, ESPN platforms will exclusively broadcast five WNBA Finals series during the 11-year extension at a transformative time in league history.
Disney and ESPN have been part and parcel of the growth and coverage of the NBA over the past 22 years, says NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. And we are eager to build on this terrific partnership, which is one of the league's most extensive and longest-standing relationships.
In a new initiative starting with the 2025-26 NBA season, Disney's international package of NBA and WNBA games will be available to stream on its digital platforms, including on Disney+ in select markets around the world making this Disney's most significant global sports expansion.
Our partnership with Disney has been instrumental to the growth of the WNBA and women's basketball, as Disney networks have been the home of the WNBA since the league launched 28 years ago, says WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. We look forward to building on the incredible momentum we have accomplished together to enhance the visibility of the players and teams and providing more engaging experiences for our fans in the years to come.
More key WNBA highlights:
WNBA Finals exclusively for five out of 11 seasons;
Exclusive WNBA Semifinals series in eight of 11 seasons;
Extensive regular-season and postseason WNBA game packages for ESPN and ABC;
Expanded WNBA Countdown rights;
Exclusive WNBA All-Star Game broadcast annually;
Exclusive WNBA Draft and WNBA Draft Lottery broadcasts annually;
More highlight rights across platforms.
More key NBA highlights:
All 11 NBA Finals exclusively, plus 10 exclusive NBA Conference Finals series through 2035
Exclusive packages of NBA Playoffs first and second round games
Rights to launch new NBA studio show featuring whip-around coverage on game nights
NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC and NBA Sunday Showcase packages
Exclusive home of the NBA Draft, NBA Draft Lottery and NBA All-Star Celebrity Game
Wednesday and select Friday NBA games on ESPN
All five NBA Christmas Day games annually; exclusive national coverage of regular-season's final day
Widespread ESPN Radio and ESPN Deportes coverage, including NBA Finals, NBA Draft, NBA Playoffs, Conference Finals and regular-season games
Development of the official The Bubble documentary - a behind-the-scenes look at the 2020 Pandemic-era NBA Playoffs and NBA Finals in quarantine at the Walt Disney World Resort
More alternate-cast opportunities that will utilize the tremendous depth and breadth of Disney's global brands and platforms
Extensive slate of G League and summer league games, including the championship games
NBA and WNBA Help Fuel ESPN BET
The new agreement provides ESPN with all necessary rights to create best-in-class sports betting experiences for NBA and WNBA fans. ESPN will have increased rights to utilize NBA and WNBA highlights and content within its sports betting coverage and to support or integrate into ESPN BET promotions. Furthermore, ESPN has secured the rights to future NBA-focused sports betting specials and series.
More Studio Programming than Ever
ESPN has secured the rights to expand its NBA studio coverage via new whip-around programming. The rights include the ability to establish coverage on Disney nights, starting with enhanced game access, player arrivals and interviews. Additionally, rights include highlighting live action from around the league with real-time highlights and live cut-ins. In addition to whip-around coverage of the night's games, the show will also include segments focused on different aspects of basketball, including culture and fashion, player arrivals, produced features and breakdowns from ESPN's leading analysts. ESPN will continue to air its NBA Countdown pregame show and its weekday studio show NBA Today.
Disney Magic: Marvel Studios and Walt Disney World Resort
This groundbreaking deal will facilitate a forma
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
03/09/2026
NEP Group has announced leadership changes at Creative Technology Group. Founder and CEO Graham Andrews will step away from day-to-day leadership at the end of ...
03/09/2026
The NFL and TikTok have announced a multi-year partnership renewal expanding the league's presence on the platform. NFL posts on TikTok increased more than ...
03/09/2026
Grass Valley has appointed Ronny Van Geel as Vice President, Cameras. Van Geel began his career in 1999 at Philips DVS and moved into product management in 2005...
03/09/2026
Telestream has announced Vantage Super Resolution, an AI-powered upscaling capability for the Vantage media workflow platform, developed in collaboration with N...
03/09/2026
Solid State Logic (SSL) will debut the TCA Tour at IBC2026 (Hall 8, Stand 8.B45), a portable production system built from System T components in a desktop frame...
03/09/2026
DPA Microphones has announced the 6388 CORE Headset Microphone, making its debut at IBC2026 (Hall 8, Stand D60). The supercardioid headset features a physicall...
03/09/2026
Qvest will present a multi-vendor Dynamic Media Facility (DMF) showcase at IBC2026 (Booth 10.C24), demonstrating how the EBU's DMF architecture can be imple...
03/09/2026
Imagine Communications will showcase the Magellan PanelFlex control surface and other control portfolio updates at IBC2026 (Stand 1.B73, RAI Amsterdam, Septembe...
03/09/2026
Bridge Technologies will announce at IBC2026 (Booth 1.A71) that its VB440 production probe is now available as a software-based solution, deployable on commerci...
03/09/2026
Audio-Technica has unveiled the BP350ST MS (mid-side) microphone in two versions: the camera-mount BP350ST-UL and the boundary or gooseneck-mountable BP350ST-UB...
03/09/2026
Telos Alliance will introduce updates to the J nger Audio flexAI audio processin...
03/09/2026
DUNKMAN, the professional dunk league founded by Shaquille O'Neal in partner...
03/09/2026
Orlando's WRDQ TV 27, WFTV Channel 9 previously named over-the-air broadcast...
03/09/2026
EverPass Media has announced a multi-year commercial distribution agreement with Netflix, expanding on an existing partnership that has delivered NFL Christmas ...
03/09/2026
Yahoo Sports and Apple TV have announced a partnership to deliver alternate broadcasts of select Friday Night Baseball and MLS games on the Yahoo Sports website...
03/09/2026
With another academic year underway, college athletic departments across the cou...
03/09/2026
Facility becomes permanent home of NFL Live on Sept. 9; centerpiece studio for c...
03/09/2026
Create musical synth bass sounds from scratch
Anthony Marinelli Music have recently announced the launch of Bass DNA, a new online course that teaches music...
03/09/2026
Most powerful Tonex hardware to date
IK Multimedia's latest release introduces their most advanced Tonex hardware unit to date, combining their AI Machi...
03/09/2026
Upmix & downmix software upgraded
Penteo Audio Plugins have announced that the latest version of their powerful upmix and downmix software is now available....
03/09/2026
With the start of the new apprenticeship year, young talent has once again begun their professional careers at SGL Carbon's sites in Germany. Recently, the ...
03/09/2026
With the industry increasingly embracing hybrid, software-defined production models, Calrec will preview a series of Argo and ImPulseV software enhancements at ...
03/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/09/2026
Recognizing the ever-increasing demands for media throughput in challenging environments like post-production, two leaders in network technology have worked tog...
03/09/2026
EVS, a leader in live video technology and production infrastructure solutions, and Matrox Video, a leader in software-defined media technology and IP-based vid...
03/09/2026
AJA Debuts OG-FiDO-4 openGear Four-Channel SDI/Fiber Conversion Cards
Brie Clayton September 3, 2026
0 Comments
New product family expands 12G-SDI and...
03/09/2026
Nice Touch launches V2 of its AI edit assistant for professional editors
Brie Clayton September 3, 2026
0 Comments
Built by two editors with twelve ye...
03/09/2026
Accedo, a global provider of video streaming software and services, and MediaKind, a world-leading video technology company and the number one independent provi...
03/09/2026
International research from Big Blue Marble puts a consumer churn number against a technical failure, and sets out what streaming providers must fix before 2030...
03/09/2026
High-performance points of presence power video streaming delivery to large audiences across Latin America with guaranteed quality of experience
Broadpeak , a ...
03/09/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, will unveil the next evolution of Dalia at IBC2026 (7.A43), its media-aware agent...
03/09/2026
CGI (TSX: GIB.A) (NYSE: GIB), one of the world's largest independent IT and business consulting services firms, will showcase CGI OpenMedia Evolve and CGI d...
03/09/2026
LiveU is participating in the IBC Accelerator Incubator 2026: Smart Stories The New Knowledge Architecture for Content Production, an industry-wide initiative...
03/09/2026
Broadcast Solutions, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast and media industry, has taken another major step in its...
03/09/2026
Quortex today announced that it will showcase how it is accelerating innovation and the transition to IP at IBC 2026. The company will debut its newest intellig...
03/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/09/2026
The EZDRM approach to Revenue Security on streaming video can be visualized as a multi-dimensional set of solutions. A growing dimension of that approach is the...
03/09/2026
From field capture to management, control and production, Kiloview will demonstrate one connected Hybrid AV-over-IP workflow including a complete 4RU producti...
03/09/2026
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, today announced Mediagenix Curation, a new...
03/09/2026
LucidLink, the Emmy-winning cloud-native file streaming platform for instant, secure access to large files, today announced the next step in its vision to make ...
03/09/2026
Fraudulent communications purportedly from Screen Australia 3 September 2026
Screen Australia is aware of scam attempts involving fake emails and promotional m...
03/09/2026
AJA Introduces FS8, Next-Gen 12G-SDI/SMPTE ST 2110 Media Processor
Brie Clayton September 2, 2026
0 Comments
AJA Video Systems unveiled FS8, a video a...