NEW YORK—The first month of the WNBA season drew its highest attendance since the league’s second season in 1998 and the best television ratings in its history, the WNBA announced Tuesday.
The figures are the latest evidence of the surging popularity of the WNBA since it added prominent rookies including Indiana’s Caitlin Clark, Chicago’s Angel Reese, and Los Angeles’ Cameron Brink, all of whom drew big audiences playing in college.
Across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, CBS, ION, and NBA TV, WNBA games are averaging 1.32 million viewers, nearly tripling last season’s average of 462,000, the league said on Tuesday.
“What’s happening now in women’s basketball is confirmation of what we’ve always known: The demand is there, and women’s sports is a valuable investment,” said Colie Edison, the WNBA’s chief growth officer. “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.”
The WNBA finished May having sold out more than half its games, more than double the number of sellouts last year. Approximately 400,000 fans have attended games, the most through the first month in 26 years.
Arenas have been filled to 94 percent capacity, a 17 percent rise from last year, the league said. Some games have been moved to bigger arenas to accommodate increased fan interest, such as Clark and the Fever playing at the Washington Wizards’ downtown arena in front of 20,333 fans last Friday night instead of the Mystics’ usual venue, which seats 4,200.
On the television side, the WNBA said it saw a 96 percent increase in Hispanic viewers and a 67 percent increase in Black viewers.
Merchandise sales rose 236 percent from the same period last year, with Clark, Reese, and Brink ranking in the top five for jersey sales during the first week of the season.
Controversy has ensued in the past week as Clark was not announced as part of the 12-player roster to represent the United States Women’s Basketball team for this summer’s Olympics.
