WNBA
WNBA 2024 season viewership: How many people watched the games on average?
In basic terms, the WNBA viewer numbers for the 2024 season have shot through the roof.
The hype is real; the WNBA is here to stay. Viewing figures for the 2024 season of the elite women’s basketball game have being catapulted into new territory as the league continues to grow at a rapid pace across the country.
While the regular season may be over and we saw the New York Liberty’s win over the Las Vegas Aces wrap up the action, the levels of excitement are not dropping: According to ESPN the final game of the campaign was the most-viewed regular season ever across ESPN platforms, with games averaging 1.2 million viewers: a 170% increase from 2023.
ESPN expect big things for WNBA playoffs
WNBA Countdown with LaChina Robinson, Monica McNutt and Carolyn Peck, the main pre-game show, also saw an eye-watering increase of viewers: it went up 113% from 2023, with over 500,000 viewers tuning in to catch the analysis.
Drama between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese has captivated viewers who are interested in the sparky elements of elite sport, but the truth is that the standard of the game has been top notch all year as the sides have battled it out on the court.
Excitement for the playoffs is set to continue, and ESPN have announced that they are ready and waiting to broadcast every single WNBA postseason game across the various platforms, meaning that we can carry on staying glued to our screens.
Earlier in the year, the WNBA announced that “the first month of the WNBA season drew its highest attendance since the league’s second season in 1998″. “What’s happening now in women’s basketball is confirmation of what we’ve always known” said Colie Edison, the WNBA’s chief growth officer.
“The demand is there, and women’s sports is a valuable investment. We’re encouraged by growing engagement across all our verticals, especially as we welcome new and diverse audiences into our fandom. The WNBA continues to experience sustained growth as our league embraces this heightened momentum”, she concluded.
ESPN say that the WNBA finished May “having sold out more than half its games, more than double the number of sellouts last year”, while adding that “approximately 400,000 fans have attended games, the most through the first month in 26 years.”