The Women's National Basketball Association's viewership and attendance boomed in the course of the 2024 season because the league's popularity skyrocketed with young stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.
The league's games attracted greater than 54 million unique viewers, an all-time record, across various networks including DisneyABC and ESPN, Paramount Global's CBS, EW Scripps' According to information released by the WNBA on Friday, Ion and NBA TV are amongst those participating.
Additionally, viewership of WNBA games reached its highest level in 22 years, increasing nearly 50% because the 2023 season, in keeping with the league. There were 154 sold-out games in the course of the yr, greater than triple the 45 sold-out games in 2023.
This season's explosive metrics and recognition got here with a top rookie class, including Clark of the Indiana Fever and Reese of the Chicago Sky, and because the Las Vegas Aces bid for his or her third straight championship. The numbers underscore why the league was capable of land a lucrative recent media rights deal and is in an expansion phase: The WNBA announced this month that it will add a fifteenth team in Portland for the 2026 season.
As attention to the league increased, more players said they’d experienced online harassment or racism. When asked concerning the dynamic on CNBC earlier this month, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert didn’t specifically condemn the hatred toward players, which drew criticism across the league.
She clarified later that it’s against “hatred or racism”.
Clark's influence was also evident within the Fever's attendance figures. Every WNBA team saw double-digit growth in viewership year-over-year. However, the Fever saw a greater than four-fold increase, significantly greater than the 69 percent growth of the Los Angeles Sparks, who ranked second in keeping with the WNBA.
The WNBA also saw significant growth in merchandise and community engagement in the course of the season. The WNBA's social media accounts recorded nearly 2 billion video views, greater than 4 times the number from the 2023 season.
The increased attention has led to a $2.2 billion media rights deal for 11 seasons, with a price revaluation after the 2028 season, CNBC previously reported. The WNBA's media rights were negotiated earlier this yr as a part of the broader NBA agreement.
During the rights negotiations – which resulted in a complete $77 billion, 11-year deal – the NBA had pushed for more cash given the WNBA's rising popularity.
During the 2024 WNBA season, 22 telecasts of standard season games averaged no less than 1 million viewers.
Several individual games broke WNBA viewership records on ESPN, and this was the most-watched regular season ever for ESPN, averaging 1.19 million viewers, up 170% from last season, in keeping with the league. The 2024 season featured the seven most-watched WNBA games of all time on ESPN and the highest two on ABC.
It was also the most-watched regular season ever for CBS Sports, with CBS Sports' five most-watched WNBA games of all time, including the Sky at Fever game in June, which averaged 2.25 million viewers.
The explosive viewership continued into the postseason, as a September 22 game between the Fever and Connecticut Sun drew a record viewership. in keeping with ESPN. Clark's Fever were eliminated in two games in the primary round.
The league's playoffs are actually within the semifinals, which incorporates a rematch between the Aces and last yr's runners-up, the New York Liberty.
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