The WNBA’s popularity increased significantly in 2024

In the first five WNBA games that have aired on ESPN, average viewership topped 1 million people and surpassed last year’s average by 226 percent, reports the AP’s Doug Feinberg. In-person audiences are up 14 percent compared to last year as well, Feinberg adds. And the league’s app downloads have similarly skyrocketed, growing 146 percent.

The WNBA’s success is due in part to a first-year class full of college sports phenoms like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Cameron Brink who brought unprecedented attention to college women’s basketball during this year’s NCAA tournament and set new records for scoring and viewership during their undergraduate careers. When these athletes were recently drafted to the WNBA, their many fans followed them, boosting ticket and merchandise sales as well as TV ratings.

March 5, 2025 | 5:53 am