CNBC is adding the WNBA to its programming lineup, as it will air 11 games as part of Versant’s Wednesday night doubleheader. The second game of each doubleheader will air on both CNBC and USA beginning with Wednesday’s Aces-Mercury matchup. USA had been airing both games each week but would start Game 2 on CNBC if Game 1 had not yet concluded. USA Sports President Matt Hong said, “What started as our promise to WNBA viewers that they won’t miss a minute of the action … became something that we worked on internally -- USA Sports and CNBC -- to just televise the whole second game of the doubleheader.”
This is the first year of an 11-year agreement between Versant and the WNBA, and Hong said putting games on CNBC is part of a bigger strategy for the company. He said, “It’s a promise that we make to not only the WNBA, but all our league partners, that we’ll look for new audiences for them. The CNBC audience … those viewers are primed to be new viewers and new fans for the WNBA” (“Squawk Box,” CNBC, 6/17).
