Does anyone know how much of a bump the WNBA has had in regard to ratings due to the Caitlin Clark effect? They showed her game the other night and the two teams were a combined 3-20. I guess the game sold out and her team was the visiting team. I also wonder how much money she has been worth to the league this year?
Ratings and attendance are through the roof. Best attendance since season one and average ratings of 1.3M. They should at least double their TV rights deal when it’s up for renewal next year.
WNBA tv rights are packaged with the NBA. The split of monies isn’t determined by the networks but by NBA.
Given the NBA deal is reported to increase 2.5x+, WNBA will likely get $150-200m/yr. Currently, WNBA gets around $60m/yr.
Another huge number for Clark-Reese. 2.3M on ESPN is absolutely incredible, even besting the CBS game of 2.2M from a week prior.
And both are sub 0.500 teams in the league - which kinda has to make the old guard WNBA players angry. For the most part no one cares about the top of the league just a couple of the newer players.
The old guard players are treating Clark like Bobby Orr’s knees . Clark’s putting more money in every player’s pockets but that doesn’t seem to matter . Even the U.S. Olympic team has missed the boat . I’m sure the television networks are not thrilled . She promotes women’s basketball to the world
The media know their meal ticket no doubt.
They’ve played this up and blown this matter up all year even before she turned pro.
Now it’s routine inclusion on any given daytime sports talk show and any given sports-oriented YouTube channel.
I wish most of the dialogue were more healthy and about the sport much as I do for other sports, but that’s not how the dominant media roll in the US, including most especially ESPN and all their past and current employees with a social media presence as well.
I’ve learned to tune out that noise even more than I had already for years, even before I cut the cable cord in November 2021.
Any more, I’m not paying for any given sports channel or medium that does not, in great part, actually have LIVE sports on that I care about as opposed to more and more talk and all those staged debates, especially manufactured as they are from June through September.