Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, #22, drives to the basket against Atlanta Dream guard Destanni Henderson, #33, during a WNBA preseason game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana on May 9, 2024.
Brian Spurlock | Icon Sportswire | Getty Images
The National Women’s Basketball Association’s viewership and attendance increased during the 2024 season as the league’s popularity soared due to young stars such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.
The league matches attracted more than 54 million unique viewers, an all-time record, on various networks including DisneyABC and ESPN’s Paramount Global’s CBS, EW Scripps’ Ion and NBA TV, among others, according to data released by the WNBA on Friday.
In addition, viewership for WNBA games reached a 22-year high and is up nearly 50 percent from the 2023 season, according to the league. There were 154 sellout games during the year, more than triple the 45 sellouts in 2023.
The explosive numbers and popularity this season came with a top rookie class, including Clark of the Indiana Fever and Reese of the Chicago Sky, and as the Las Vegas Aces bid for their third straight championship. The figures underscore why the league was able to attract a lucrative new media rights deal and is in the midst of an expansion: The WNBA announced this month it will add a 15th team in Portland in the 2026 season.
As attention to the league grew, more players said they experienced online harassment or racism. Asked about the dynamic on CNBC earlier this month, WNBA Commissioner Kathy Engelbert did not specifically condemn the vitriol toward the players, drawing criticism from around the league.
She clarified later that he opposes “hate or racism”.
Clark’s impact was also seen in the Fever’s attendance numbers. Every WNBA team had double-digit attendance growth year over year. However, the Fever had more than a fourfold jump, significantly more than the 69 percent growth of the second-place Los Angeles Sparks, according to the WNBA.
The WNBA also saw significant growth in merchandise and social engagement during the season. WNBA social media accounts garnered nearly 2 billion video views, more than four times the number from the 2023 season.
The heightened attention led to a media rights contract worth $2.2 billion over 11 seasons, with the price re-evaluated after the 2028 season, CNBC previously reported. The WNBA’s media rights were negotiated as part of the broader NBA deal earlier this year.
During the rights negotiations — which resulted in a $77 billion deal spanning 11 years — the NBA had pushed for more money for the WNBA given its growing popularity.
During the 2024 WNBA season, 22 telecasts of regular season games averaged at least 1 million viewers.
Several individual games broke WNBA viewership records on ESPN, and this was ESPN’s most-watched regular season ever, averaging 1.19 million viewers, a 170 percent increase from last season, according to the league. The 2024 season featured the seven most-watched WNBA games of all time on ESPN, as well as the top two on ABC.
It was also the most-watched regular season ever for CBS Sports, with CBS Sports’ five most-watched WNBA games, including the Sky at Fever game in June that averaged 2.25 million viewers.
The explosive viewership continued into the postseason, as the Sept. 22 matchup between the Fever and the Connecticut Sun drew a record crowd, according to ESPN. Clark’s Fever was eliminated in two games in the first round.
The league playoffs are now in the semifinals, which include a rematch between the Aces and the New York Liberty, last year’s runners-up.
