The WNBA’s Remarkable Viewership Surge in 2024
If you’re a professional sports league, having a compelling viewership narrative is crucial, and the WNBA has an exceptional story to share heading into 2024. Recently, ESPN announced that the WNBA regular season achieved its highest viewership ever across its networks, including ABC. On average, games attracted a staggering 1.2 million viewers, representing a significant increase from last year’s average of 440,000 viewers. Such extraordinary percentage jumps are rare in the realm of sports television.
What’s even more remarkable is that 22 regular-season games this year surpassed the 1 million viewer mark, marking the first occurrence of this milestone since 2008. If we include the WNBA All-Star Game and the WNBA Draft, the total climbs to 24 programming events in 2024 that drew over 1 million viewers. Notably, Caitlin Clark participated in all but three of these highly-viewed events, as reported by Sports Media Watch.
In terms of standout performances, the WNBA All-Star Game averaged an impressive 3.44 million viewers on ABC, shattering the previous audience record set in 2003. The WNBA Draft, featuring stars like Clark, Angel Reese, and Cameron Brink, also made headlines with an average of 2.446 million viewers, reflecting a remarkable 307 percent increase in viewership compared to the previous year.
Additionally, there were seven games broadcast on ION this season that exceeded the 1 million viewer threshold, including a thrilling matchup between Indiana and Las Vegas last Friday, which averaged 1.2 million viewers. Furthermore, Sports Media Watch highlighted that the game on September 11 between the Fever and Aces set a record for the largest WNBA audience ever on NBA TV, attracting 678,000 viewers. This surpassed the prior high established in 2024 during a Fever-Wings game over Labor Day weekend, which drew 652,000 viewers.
