CNBC is including the WNBA to its programming lineup, as it would air 11 games as part of Versant’s Wednesday night doubleheader. The second sport of every doubleheader will air on each CNBC and USA starting with (*11*)’s Aces-Mercury matchup. USA had been airing each games every week however would begin Game 2 on CNBC if Game 1 had not but concluded. USA Sports President Matt Hong mentioned, “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 primary yr of an 11-year settlement between Versant and the WNBA, and Hong mentioned placing games on CNBC is part of an even bigger technique for the corporate. He mentioned, “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).