With the $2B TV deal they just signed, they will be around for the longhaul. NBA just needs to keep paying $10-20M/yr to subsidize it.
I think the NBA subsidy is a rounding error to the league so they don't really care. By doing this they give the image of supporting women's sports. Its all about the image.
I would love to compare the first few seasons of revenue for the NBA when it started to the WNBA (adjust for inflation). I wonder if the NBA struggled financially like this?
Someone probably knows the history well.
Hell, Keithrichards was alive through it.