most-watched NCAA Tournament game in 10 years, WNBA Viewership & Ratings Growing In 2021, Fans prefer to attend Seattle Storm games on, During the WNBAs first season, the Phoenix Mercury had the highest a, In 2008 the Detroit Shock were the WNBA Champions. The league headed into the 26th season by announcing its $75 million capital raise to fuel investment in the long-term transformation of the league. Earlier this month, the Women's College World Series three-game championship series between Oklahoma and Florida State averaged 1.84 million viewers on ESPN up 15% from 2019. Copyright 2023 Deseret News Publishing Company. The strong showing in 2021 made it the most-viewed postseason since 2014. Lets first take a look at the last two WNBA Drafts. The 2019 NBA Finals averaged a little more than 20 million viewers per game; the 2019 WNBA Finals averaged about 400,000 viewers per game. Each of Wilson, Stewart and Bird generated more than $600,000 in social value this season, in large part because they were some of the most active athletes on the platform when it came to sharing content from other brands and personalities. system, which features three uniform editions for each of the 12 teams, WNBA merchandise on The WNBA Store saw record growth this season with a 50% increase over last year. The showdown recorded 789,000 viewers, peaking at a million for the primetime presentation. The WNBA capped off the season by announcing that WNBA League Pass, the leagues out-of-market regular season live game package that also features highlights and off-the-court content from the 2022 season as well as every archived game since the 2015 season, would now be available through Roku. NEW YORK, Aug. 17, 2022 The WNBA finished the 2022 regular season delivering its most-watched regular season in 14 years. And Game 2 of that series averaged 1.2 million viewers on ABC. In addition, the league teamed up with Dapper Labs, the company behind NBA Top Shot and the Flow blockchain, to launch WNBA Moments on Top Shot, giving fans the ability to own dynamic in-game moments from WNBA players and legends. Through 17 games (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2), the 2021 WNBA Playoffs averaged 367,000 viewers, 63 percent higher than the entire 2020 postseason (226,000 average viewers) and 42 percent higher than 2019 (258,000 average viewers). The WNBA has also made room for males who share their vision. You need at least a Starter Account to use this feature. Womens tennis is as popular or more popular than the mens game, and womens gymnastics is much more popular than the mens sport. The 2023 Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament presented by TIAA marks the 30th in conference history. The 2022 WNBA Playoffs presented by Google tips off on Wednesday, Aug. 17, when the No. And the entire Finals series averaged 548,000 viewers, making it also the most watched since 2017. According to the WNBA, this is the most watched season since 2008. All 17. The NBA's average attendance is 17,760, the WNBA's 6,535. NBA commissioner Adam Silver reports that the WNBA has lost an average of $10 million every year it has existed, which the NBA subsidizes out of the goodness of its politically correct heart. Baseball viewership statistics were down 20% from the 2014-15 season. I just really hope that this is the beginning and there's no backtracking. Average TV viewers of the WNBA regular season from 2016 to 2022 (in 1,000s) [Graph]. A link has been emailed to you - check your inbox. Game 2 (Oct. 13, ESPN) became the most-viewed Game 2 since 2003 and the most-viewed Finals game since 2017s Game 5. A paid subscription is required for full access. When fans werent tuned in, they engaged with social content in record numbers. The workplace benefits historically marginalized groups enjoy from unionization are well-documented. I just wanted to reiterate that data point. The ideal entry-level account for individual users. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft Saturday, April 17, 2004, in Secaucus, N.J. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun). The league started the 25thseason by introducing its new official game ball by Wilson Sporting Goods through a new multiyear global partnership. According to Deadline.com, the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics double-overtime game averaged 1.96 million viewers, topping out at an audience size of 2.87 million late in the game. Los Angeles is the driving force behind MLB ratings this October, so the Dodgers advancing would. Morning Consult. As soon as this statistic is updated, you will immediately be notified via e-mail. Connecticut's Diana Taurasi, left, is presented with a Phoenix Mercury jersey by WNBA President Val [+] Ackerman, right, after the Mercury chose her as the No. WNBA NBA NBA G League NBA 2K League. You cant ask for anything better than to have a 15 percent increase (for the Finals) when the NBA Finals is down 49 percent.. ESPN added 13 games to their 2020 broadcast slate after their opening weekend broadcast was up 20% year-over-year. Show publisher information The WNBAs Covid-disrupted 2020 regular season averaged 205,000 viewers across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. four quarters in both an NBA and WNBA game (each quarter is 12 minutes for the men and 10 minutes for the women). According to Burack, who also cited Nielsen data, TNT's slate of NBA games declined by 19 percent compared to 2019 (from 1.5 million to 1.2 million viewers per game) while ESPN's offerings . I cover the Phoenix Suns as well as the broader NBA and WNBA, PALMETTO, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 02: Breanna Stewart, #30 of the Seattle Storm drives to the basket against A'ja Wilson #22 of the Las Vegas Aces during the first half of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals at Feld Entertainment Center on October 02, 2020 in Palmetto, Florida. Washington out shot Anaheim by a total of 39-23 and went 0-3 on the power play in the game. Because of ESPNs commitment to the league and brands increasing desire to get involved with the leagues star players, online engagement with the WNBA continued to grow. WNBA games haven't averaged 8,000 fans per game since 2009, and the 2017 figure was down 28.9 percent from the league's all-time high attendance in 1998, which was the WNBA's second season. The WNBA fails to generate even one percent of the NBA's $8-$9 billion in revenue. NBA players receive around 50% of shared revenue within their league, whereas we receive around 20%.. The Olympics didnt allow women to run an event longer than 800 meters until the 1972 Games, when the 1,500-meter run was added to the program; meanwhile, the men were also contesting longer distances 3,000-meter steeplechase, 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters and the marathon. By this date in 2019, 15 college football games averaged at least a 3.0 ratings. Her Oregon teammates Satou Sabally (second overall to Dallas Wings) and Ruthy Hebard (eighth overall to Chicago Sky) also went in the first round. Considering the circumstances, the WNBA will likely come away from its 2020 season content with the way it was able to connect with fans, especially from its Bubble in south Florida. Twenty-five years ago, the National Basketball Association Board of Directors approved the Womens National Basketball Association. "Level of Interest in Wnba in The United States as of May 2022, by Gender. [12] Moreover, as pundits debate whether a severely depressed sports viewership landscape is that way in part because of increased athlete activism, the WNBA perhaps more than any other league used the platform of its games to organize political and social movements among fans and viewers, and did not suffer. WNBA Viewership of 2020 WNBA Finals up 15 percent from 2019 In a time when many of America's major professional sports leagues are struggling to maintain their usual viewership, the 2020. Which was a drop of 16% on the previous year. [Online]. The NBAs average ticket price is variously reported at between $51 to $89; the WNBAs $17. On TNT, in the measurement from 2011-12, NBA viewership is down 40%. The showdown between UConn and Baylor in the Elite Eight round was the most-watched NCAA Tournament game in 10 years, excluding Final Four matchups. Please create an employee account to be able to mark statistics as favorites. There was just more interest because everything has been more available, starting with the college games. 2022 WNBA All-Stars Kelsey Plum, Sabrina Ionescu, Candace Parker, A . That parts crazy to me. We want to hear from you. The drop of new jerseys alone yielded over 69 million impressions on drop day. Furthermore, the 2021 NCAA Womens Final Four pulled some of itshighest viewership numbersever. The BarDown podcast will investigate, uncover and explore long-form stories at the intersection of sports . Learn more about how Statista can support your business. At the same time, the leagues digital footprint tells a slightly different story. The league is nearly irrelevant to the average sports fan. The league started the 25th season by introducing its new official game ball by Wilson Sporting Goods through a new multiyear global partnership. The 2021 NCAA Womens Final Four pulled some of its highest viewership numbers ever. The increase in WNBA viewership coincides with the most-ever league games on national television. Game 3 (Oct.15, ESPN2) notched 524,000 viewers and peaked at 591,000, making it the most-viewed non-title-clinching Game 3 since the 2007 WNBA Finals. Over the whole season, they didnt get a single situation where they were leading into the NBA or the NBA was leading into them. Well reveal WNBA viewership by year. Yet that unfortunately was the same night the Clippers lost Game 7 to the underdog Denver Nuggets on ESPN, which earned 5.2 million viewers, a very strong number for the NBA pre-conference finals, Lewis said. In 2021, viewership numbers dropped 12% to 331,000 average viewers but still yielded the second-largest viewership since the 2004 Draft (601,000 views). This may not be a world title match like some viewers hoped, but Cody Rhodes seems destined to topple The Tribal Chief. 3), the Phoenix Mercury (No. ESPN also. Season. The WNBA is riding a wave of momentum former All-Star Adrienne Goodson believes the league hasn't seen since its early days. Ultimately, its a missed opportunity for the WNBA. Of the eight original teams, only the Los Angeles Sparks, Phoenix Mercury, and the New York Liberty have lasted. Super Bowl averages 113 million viewers, 3rd-most watched in history The Kansas City Chiefs' 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl LVII is on pace to become the third most-watched [] A hockey podcast that doesn't talk about last night's scores. The championship game (Oct. 17, ESPN) registered 417,000 viewers and peaked with 623,000 viewers, up 32 percent from 2019s Game 4 between the Connecticut Sun and the Washington Mystics.