The overall WNBA attendance is at its highest in almost 25 years|@IndianaFever|X
Women’s basketball is entering a new era amid growing viewership and support for professional women’s sports, thanks to the regular season that boosted the league’s popularity.
As the WNBA 2024 playoffs are underway, the rookie cast—which includes Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and several others—is expected to attract more viewers.
Clark appeared in 21 of the 24 WNBA broadcasts this season that surpassed 1 million viewers, according to Sportico.
It is a remarkable growth for the league, considering the last time the WNBA telecast drew over a million viewers was in 2008.
There’s more
The Indiana Fever guard, Clark, was unanimously selected as the Rookie of the Year on Sunday. Few hours later, Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson made history when she became just the second WNBA player ever to be chosen unanimously as the MVP. The first was Cynthia Cooper in the 1997 season.
The league is drawing in big numbers in terms of TV ratings and audiences at arenas due to the star-studded cast.
The overall attendance at the WNBA has been at its highest in almost 25 years.
- According to Disney, the league’s ratings on ESPN were up 170% in the 2024 season.
- More than 20,700 fans attended the final Fever game of the regular season on September 19, the first-ever WNBA single game to have such attendance.
- Most WNBA teams have had to move to bigger arenas this season to accommodate more fans.
More eyes on games means bigger sponsorships and deals. The league has signed 11-year broadcast rights deals worth over $2.2 billion with ESPN, NBC, and Amazon.
The new agreements, which would see a $200 million payout annually and take effect in 2026, are a massive jump from the current $60 million yearly contract.
The WNBA plans to expand to 16 teams by 2028. It announced a new Portland franchise last week.