WNBA All-Star Ratings Nearly Triple Previous Record
Add the WNBA All-Star Game to the list of things going way up when it comes to women's basketball. In just the latest example of the growth of the sport, the festivities from Phoenix saw ratings go through the roof. The contest averaged 3.44 million viewers on ABC, making it the third highest-rated event in league history, trailing only the first two games upon the WNBA's inception in 1997.
This year's WNBA all-star game averaged 3.44 million viewers on ABC.
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) July 23, 2024
That makes it the WNBA's third-largest telecast ever and 2.5x bigger than the league's previous all-star game record of 1.4 million (in 2003)
The Team USA vs. All-Star dynamic was fantastic. pic.twitter.com/iiJvXCwXGR
The previous record for the All-Star Game itself was 1.44 million in 2003, meaning it was almost tripled. While the mark from last year was indeed toppled by more than 300 percent. Of course this can be cited in large part to "The Caitlin Clark Effect" as all metrics have gone up since the Indiana Fever rookie entered the W.
The format of the contest certainly didn't hurt either as it featured Team USA and the squad heading to Paris for the Olympics facing off with Team WNBA and the players like Clark and Dallas Wings Star Arike Ogunbowale who were not chosen to represent United States Women's Basketball.
Team WNBA wound up winning in convincing fashion and that has now been confirmed to be with millions watching. All this growth has led many to wonder what the league's next media right deal might look like, with reporting suggesting it could be in the neighborhood of $2.2 billion, a figure that would be a massive increase on the current number, but one Cheryl Miller dubbed "lowball" before she coached the W squad in the record-breaking All-Star Game.
WNBA legend Cheryl Miller says the league’s reported 11-year, $2.2 billion media rights package is a "lowball."
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) July 22, 2024
"We need tough and fair negotiators and visionaries."pic.twitter.com/UMKGCB0lyx
Robin Lundberg is a media veteran and hoops head who has spent the bulk of his career with iconic brands like Sports Illustrated and ESPN. His insights have also been featured on platforms such as Fox and CNN and he can currently be heard hosting shows for Sirius XM and on his burgeoning YouTube show. And now he brings his basketball expertise to Women's Fastbreak on SI!