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WNBA TV ratings: Caitlin Clark vs Angel Reese breaks record again, 2024 WNBA ratings soar – Sportsnaut
How many people watch the WNBA? Even before the arrival of Caitlin Clark, the popularity of women’s college basketball was steadily on the rise. After being drafted with the first overall pick by the Indiana Fever, Clark is going to provide a massive boost to WNBA TV ratings in 2024 and beyond.
We witnessed the effect Clark had on college basketball TV ratings, with the women’s NCAA Tournament and Final Four setting all-time records. Clark is just the first of several women’s college basketball superstars who should be bringing an even bigger audience with them to the WNBA in the years to come.
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Here are the WNBA TV ratings for the 2024 season. Further below, you can find numbers for the WNBA Draft and the 2023 season.
Here are the most-watched WNBA games in 2024.
The most recent matchup between the Indiana Fever and New York Liberty, which saw Caitlin Clark become the first rookie to record a triple-double, averaged 1.87 million viewers on CBS. It was the fifth-most-watched WNBA game in 2024. Furthermore, per Richard Deitsch, it marked the 12th WNBA game this season to average over 1 million viewers. That ties the WNBA’s 1997 season for the most games with 1-plus million viewers.
The Fever have back-to-back games on ESPN against the Minnesota Lynx (July 14 at 4:00 PM EDT) and against the Dallas Wings (July 17 at 7:30 PM EDT). Based on recent history, both of those games will eclipse 1 million viewers and push WNBA TV ratings averages to their highest mark in over 20 years.
ESPN has been airing more WNBA games early in the summer, with Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever recently being on national TV twice within a few days. Unsurprisingly, it’s also resulted in more outstanding TV ratings for the WNBA.
Each of Indiana’s last two games on ESPN (Fever vs Mercury and Fever vs Aces) averaged over 1 million viewers on ESPN. This season, 11 games have drawn over 1 million viewers. As noted by Sports Media Watch, that’s the highest figure for the WNBA in more than two decades (2002).
Indiana lays the New York Liberty on Saturday on CBS and will be on ESPN twice (July 14 and 17) along with ABC (August 18) in the weeks to come.
The Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky faced off for the third time in June with a Sunday afternoon matchup in front of a sold-out crowd. One of the best WNBA games of the 2024 season showcased Reese and Clark at their best. it was also the most-watched WNBA game in over 20 years.
The June 23 matchup between the Fever and Sky averaged 2.3 million viewers on ESPN, making it the most-watched WNBA game in Disney’s history. While the audience still doesn’t crack the 10 most-watched WNBA games ever, the WNBA has now already had more games average over 2 million viewers this year than did it in the last four seasons.
The WNBA’s current TV rights contracts with its broadcasting partners won’t end until 2025. While that means the league can’t currently cash in on its growth in popularity, all of its broadcasting partners are experiencing significant growth in 2024.
ION, which is in its second season as a broadcasting partner, has experienced a 51 percent increase in household viewership. The network enjoyed a record-breaker on June 7, when the Indiana Fever vs Washington Mystics matchup averaged 1.02 million viewers.
NBA TV is experiencing a 346 percent growth from its viewership numbers a year ago, per SportsMediaWatch.com. WNBA games on NBA TV in 2024 are averaging 241,000, whereas a year ago, the network averaged 46,000 per game.
CBS also recently had its highest-rated WNBA games in 23 years and ESPN’s upcoming broadcast of the Indiana Fever vs Chicago Sky, the third meeting between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, is expected to be one of the most-watched WNBA games in the last 25 years.
CBS drew the highly-anticipated rematch between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese in a battle between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky. The Fever drew a sold-out crowd to the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, while CBS averaged the highest WNBA TV ratings in more than 20 years.
The broadcast averaged 2.25 million viewers, peaking with 3 million viewers during the heat of the game. It’s the highest-rated WNBA game in 23 years and represents a 225 percent viewership increase from a comparable matchup in the same window last year. Furthermore, per CBS, it was the most-streamed WNBA game ever.
The arrival of Clark paired with the year-to-year growth in popularity of the WNBA is leading to the league’s best TV ratings in decades. Following the first full month of the 2024 season, the WNBA announced that games on ANBC, ESPN, ESPN2, CBS, ION and NBA TV averaged 1.32 million viewers, almost tripling the totals from the 2023 season.
Furthermore, attendance is at its highest point in nearly 30 years with the Indiana Fever leading the league and multiple teams averaging over 10,000 fans per game. Of note, per the WNBA, it’s also seen a wider demographic audience than before, with a 96 percent increase in Hispanic viewers and a 67 percent spike in Black viewers.
Even before Chennedy Carter’s cheap shot on Caitlin Clark in Saturday’s game between the Chicago Sky vs Indiana Fever, sports fans were hooked on the matchup on ESPN. The broadcast averaged 1.5 million viewers on June 1, making it the fourth most-watched WNBA game in the last 22 years.
Considering what came out of that game, WNBA TV ratings could climb even higher. As for a rematch between the Sky vs Fever, that will come on Sunday, June 16 at 12:00 PM ET with the matchup on CBS. We’ll just say it now, that will be the most-watched WNBA game on CBS in decades and could challenge for 2 million viewers.
Caitlin Clark continues to get much-deserved credit for the huge boom the WNBA and its broadcasting partners are seeing in television ratings this year. However, there are still some huge audiences for matchups even when she’s not involved.
A matchup between the New York Liberty vs Minnesota Lynx on May 24 averaged 704,000 viewers on CBS. It was the most-watched WNBA game ever on CBS. Speaking of record-breaking TV ratings, ION averaged 724,00 viewers for its broadcast of the Indiana Fever vs Los Angeles Sparks. A partner with the WNBA for the last two seasons, it was the most-watched game ever for ION>
WNBA TV ratings have skyrocketed in the 2024 season. ABC announced it had its most-viewed opening weekend doubleheader ever, with two games combining to average 1.5 million viewers. That marks a 143 percent increase from a WNBA doubleheader on ABC a year ago.
The WNBA has already had four games averaging over 1.3 million viewers this season across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. These are the most-watched WNBA games in over two decades.
It should come as no surprise that there was a bit of a drop-off in the WNBA TV ratings following Clark’s debut with the Indiana Fever. However, her continued presence on the court is still delivering ratings gold for ESPN and ABC this season.
Related: Indiana Fever attendance skyrocketing thanks to Caitlin Clark
Saturday’s Fever vs New York Liberty game averaged 1.71 million viewers with a 1.1 rating for ABC’s broadcast in the afternoon. It ranks as the second most-watched WNBA game in the last 22 seasons, only behind Clark’s WNBA debut earlier in the week.
Days later, ESPN’s broadcast of the rematch between the Fever and Connecticut Sun on Monday night averaged 1.56 million viewers for ESPN. Giving that some perspective, ESPN’s broadcast of Game 7 between the Edmonton Oilers vs Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference Semifinals of the NHL Playoffs averaged 1.66 million viewers.
According to CNBC’s Matt Marshall, Caitlin Clark’s WNBA debut drew 2.11 million viewers on ESPN2 in the Indiana Fever’s 92-71 loss to the Connecticut Sun.
Not only did Clark’s debut bring in more viewers than ESPN’s NHL Playoffs (1.99 million), it was the most-watched WNBA game since 2001 (Sparks-Comets on NBC), delivering the league’s top audience ever recorded on cable networks.
The 2024 WNBA Draft drew 2.446 million viewers to ESPN on Monday night, making it the most-watched draft in WNBA history.
In comparison, the 2023 WNBA Draft averaged 572,000 viewers on ESPN, which was a 42 percent increase and previously the most-watched WNBA Draft since 2006. The “Clark effect” has already benefitted the WNBA before the Fever’s newest star even takes the court. It also highlights why the Fever will have 36 of their 40 games on national television in 2024.
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The WNBA’s popularity was already on the rise before Clark’s arrival. The power of two superteams – Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty – brought a new wave of fans to women’s pro basketball. When the highly-anticipated WNBA Finals matchup between the Liberty vs Aces arrived, fans tuned in.
Breaking it down game-by-game, Game 1 of the 2023 WNBA Finals saw an 18 percent increase year-over-year and Game 3 was the most-watched Game 3 in 18 years, per the Sports Business Journal. Through the first three games of the series, the WNBA Finals had experienced a 20-year high. Game 4 was the most-watched in WNBA Finals history, closing off the season in historic fashion.
Related: Caitlin Clark salary, details on Clark’s WNBA contract
TV networks have increasingly shown more interest in the WNBA in recent years, finally providing the women’s game an opportunity to get some of the spotlight. With more WNBA games being nationally televised more frequently, Disney and CBS saw rewards for it in 2023.
ESPN reported its highest WNBA ratings in decades, with viewership increasing 21 percent in comparison to the previous season. In addition, the WNBA experienced record highs in performance on digital platforms, record-setting social media engagement and more sports betting on WNBA games. In total, ESPN and CBS reported a collected 8 percent increase in viewership year-to-year.
After agreeing in 2021 to pay $27 million annually for the rights to WNBA games, ESPN’s deal with the league expires in 2025. With Clark’s arrival and the eventual addition of women’s college basketball stars like Paige Bueckers (UConn Huskies) and JuJu Watkins (USC Trojans), a new deal should be on the horizon and it will provide the WNBA with significant revenue moving forward.
WNBA television ratings have been steadily on the rise since the 2021 season, with the WNBA averaging over 500,000 viewers per nationally broadcasted game in 2023. In addition, the 2023 WNBA Finals was the most-watched in 20 years.
Also Read: Best women’s college basketball players ever
Here are the highest WNBA TV ratings ever.
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