The WNBA will expand its regular season and move to a seven-game series format for the 2025 Finals, a move that capitalizes on the records set this year, thanks in large part to the Indiana Fever stars. Caitlin Clark.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced the news Thursday before Game 1 of the WNBA Finals between the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty.
Cathy Engelbert speaks to the media before the game between Team WNBA and the U.S. Basketball Women's National Team during the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game at Footprint Center in Phoenix on July 20, 2024. (Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty Images)
“The finals will be the culmination of what I think is the most transformative year of the year. History of the WNBA Engelbert said.
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“We've seen that all of the statistics we've published, including viewership, attendance, merchandise sales, and digital engagement, are at or near record levels. And what happened? To put some statistics into perspective that provide insight, the WNBA significantly outperformed the industry in average live game consumption in 2024. ”
She continued, “Due to the league's growth and increased demand for WNBA basketball, we are now expanding the schedule and extending the finals to give fans even more opportunities to watch the world's best players compete at the highest level.” “This is an ideal time to offer this opportunity.”
Caitlin Clark, left, poses with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on April 15, 2024 in Brooklyn, New York. ). (Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports)
The league currently has a best-of-five playoff semifinal and final, with the first round being a best-of-three match. Under the new format, the finals will move to a best-of-seven match format. Coach Engelbert also announced that the regular season will be expanded to 44 games.
Caitlin Clark's final game of rookie campaign marks another WNBA milestone
This expansion follows the undeniable impact that WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark has had on the league.
According to the league, more than 2.3 million fans attended games this season, the most in 22 years, with 154 sellouts for both teams, up from 45 last season. fever Average attendance led the WNBA with just under 17,000 people, with 10 of those games in front of capacity crowds setting league TV viewership records.
Indiana also played in front of a crowd of 20,711, the largest attendance in WNBA history, ending the regular season with a new record.
The WNBA had a record 22 regular season telecasts that averaged at least 1 million viewers. According to the report, sports business journal, Clark appeared in 19 of those games.
No. 22 Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever celebrates during a game against the Los Angeles Sparks at Crypto.com Arena on May 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)
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The league has expanded to 15 teams, with Portland recently winning the award.
The WNBA recently signed landmark media rights deals with The Walt Disney Company, Amazon Prime Video, and NBCUniversal through 2036, as well as a multi-year deal with Delta Air Lines, which becomes the WNBA's official airline partner. announced a partnership spanning
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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