The league recently unveiled a new logo and color scheme, and made clear that they reflected heightened ambitions. But growth in its TV audience has so far has been modest.
The W. N. B. A. and CBS announced a multiyear agreement on Monday that will significantly increase the number of games shown on national television.
CBS Sports Network, a cable channel, will televise 40 regular season games during the coming W. N. B. A. season, which starts next month. Those games are in addition to the 16 regular season games and up to 19 playoff games that will be shown on the ESPN family of networks, 20 games that will be streamed on Twitter, and 40 on NBA TV. Teams also have local television agreements as well.
The agreement is important for the W. N. B. A., which is still struggling for exposure entering its 23rd season, but also demonstrates the challenges it continues to face.
Although 40 additional games on television could help expand the audience for the league, they will be shown on the network’s second-tier cable sports channel not its broadcast CBS channel.
CBS Sports Network is available in about 50 million American homes, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Competitors like ESPN, ESPN2, NBCSN and Fox Sports 1 are all in more than 82 million homes.
CBS Sports Network is mostly known for showing regional college football and basketball from conferences other than the Power 5, as well as niche sports like bull riding, lacrosse and rugby.
