NEW YORK — It's been less than a month since the 2024 WNBA season began, but the league is already setting new records.
The WNBA recorded its highest-attended opening month in 26 years this past May, the league announced Monday.
Approximately 400,000 fans attended WNBA games in May alone. In fact, more than half of all WNBA games were sellouts, a 156% increase from 2023, according to the league.
But it's not just game attendance that exceeded expectations last month. The WNBA also had its most-watched start of the season ever, averaging 1.32 million viewers across national television networks ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and CBS.
The Opening Night Matchup between the Indiana Fever and the Connecticut Sun on May 14 peaked at 2.34 million viewers across ESPN2, ESPN+ and Disney+, making it the most-watched WNBA game on Disney platforms ever.
Just seven days later, the Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun played the most-watched WNBA game on ESPN, averaging 1.56 million viewers.
“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, chief growth officer of the WNBA.
The WNBA highlighted rookies such as Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin, Angel Reese and Cameron Brink as driving forces behind the increase in popularity.
Beyond attendance and viewership, the league reports drastic increases in merchandise sales, social media interactions and WNBA League Pass subscriptions.