WNBA on ESPN

WNBA on ESPN
WNBA on ESPN logo
Starring	Geno Auriemma Mike Breen Cindy Brunson Doris Burke Heather Cox Terry Gannon Mark Jones Andrea Joyce Marc Kestecher Nancy Lieberman Rebecca Lobo Lisa Malosky Ann Meyers Beth Mowins Dave Pasch Carolyn Peck Stephanie Ready Holly Rowe Michele Tafoya Pam Ward Bob Wischusen
Country of origin	United States
Production
Running time	120 minutes+ (ESPN) 150 minutes+ (ABC)
Release
Original network	ESPN (1997 – present) ESPN2 (2001 – present) ABC (2003 – present) ESPN Deportes (2004 – present)
Picture format	480i (SDTV) 720p (HDTV)
Original release	1997 – present

The WNBA on ESPN refers to the presentation of Women's National Basketball Association games on the ESPN family of networks. Under the title of WNBA Tuesday, games are broadcast throughout the WNBA season on Tuesday nights on ESPN2.

In June 2003, the WNBA signed a new six-year agreement with ABC Sports and ESPN to televise regular-season games and playoff games from 2003 through 2008. It was also announced that ESPN2 would televise a half-hour pre-game show before each broadcast. In June 2007, the WNBA signed another contract extension with ESPN. The new television deal runs from 2009 to 2016. A minimum of 18 games will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 each season. Additionally, a minimum of 11 postseason games will be broadcast on any of the three stations.

Along with this deal came the first ever rights fees to be paid to a women's professional sports league. WNBA president Donna Orender and John Skipper, ESPN vice president for content, gave no exact figure but said it was worth "millions and millions of dollars".

Beginning with the 2009 WNBA season, all nationally broadcast WNBA games are shown in high definition.

On March 28, 2013, ESPN and the WNBA announced they had extended their agreement through 2022. Under the agreement, there will be up to 30 games a year televised on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 each season, including the Finals. Although the financial terms of the deal were not stated by ESPN or the WNBA, Sports Business Daily reported that sources said the deal was worth $12 million a year.

Announcers change from year to year, but recent play-by-play personalities have included: Terry Gannon, Mark Jones, Dave Pasch and Pam Ward. Generally, game broadcasts include a pair of announcers—alongside those providing play-by-play are the color analysts which have included Doris Burke, Nancy Lieberman, Carolyn Peck, Rebecca Lobo.

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Wikipedia