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Female hoops return to Amazon’s Prime Video for at least two more years.
Prime Video and the WNBA on Friday announced a rights renewal agreement under which Prime Video will remain the exclusive streaming partner in the U. S. The team will be playing in the U. S. during a 21-game season package, adding the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup championship game. Prime Video’s deal extension covers the 2024 and 25 seasons.
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Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Prime Video first became a partner of the WNBA for the 2021 season, when 16 games were broadcast. The 2024 season is scheduled to run from May 14 to September 14 at 2:19 p. m. , with the league’s 12 groups. betting 40 games.
According to Amazon, the 2023 WNBA Commissioners Cup draw was the largest ever seen for a WNBA game on Prime Video, nearly doubling last year’s viewership. The renewal of the deal comes at a time of renewed interest in the women’s game in general. The WNBA is expected to attract a new wave of enthusiasts with the expected arrival of school stars such as Caitlyn Clark of the University of Iowa and Angel Reese of LSU, who have declared for the league’s upcoming draft.
Prime Video owns the exclusive international broadcast rights (excluding China, Japan, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Finland and Germany) for all 20 games of the regular WNBA season and the league championship game. In addition, Prime Video provides live politics from the WNBA’s Seattle. Storm, with more Storm games available exclusively to Prime members in Washington State.
“We’re thrilled to continue to offer an exclusive WNBA national policy and showcase those remarkable athletes to Prime members,” Charlie Neiman, Prime Video’s head of sports partnerships, said in a statement. “After a successful 2023 season, we look to the future to take even more steps with the WNBA and strengthen our commitment to women’s sports. “
The WNBA’s biggest media partner is ESPN, whose deal with the league also runs through 2025, and it also has media rights deals with CBS and ION.
Colie Edison, Chief Growth Officer of the WNBA, commented, “We are incredibly pleased that Prime Video is making a significant and ongoing commitment to the WNBA and once again providing a wonderful platform to showcase our league’s world-class athletes during the regular season and in particular, with the championship game broadcast.
The full schedule of 2024 WNBA games on Prime Video will be announced as part of the upcoming WNBA broadcast and full broadcast in the coming weeks, according to Amazon.
The deal shows that Amazon continues to put a price tag on obtaining sports rights. Their biggest pact is their deal for the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football” package of games, which runs through the 2033 season. In addition, Prime Video recently obtained the exclusive rights in the United States to an NFL playoff game for the 2024-25 season.
In the U. S. , Prime Video’s sports programming, in addition to the WBNA and “TNF,” includes events from the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), the New York Yankees, Overtime Elite, Premier Boxing Champions and the Professional Pickleball Association in the United States. Prime Video has ONE Championship in the U. S. and Canada; Premier League in the UK; UEFA Champions League in Germany and Italy; Roland-Garros and France’s Ligue 1; New Zealand Cricket in India; the Copa do Brasil and the NBA in Brazil; and boxing and the 2023 World Baseball Classic in Japan.
Pictured above: Las Vegas Aces’ Kelsey Plum (No. 10) grabs a rebound off Kayla Thornton (No. 10). 5) of the New York Liberty’s fourth game of the 2023 WNBA Finals on Oct. 18, 2023, in Brooklyn.
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