The report, citing WNBA sources, including one team executive, revealed that the league will be losing $50 million for the 2024 season despite full coverage.
The Basketball Association reportedly made between $180 million and $200 million last season, but that’s still a fraction of the more than $10 billion the NBA made.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Said in 2018 If the WNBA is losing about $10 million a year, that means losses since the league’s inception in 1997 are at least $200 million and potentially more than $260 million.
The report The Washington Post The WNBA is expected to lose $50 million this season, the paper reported, citing two anonymous sources familiar with the league’s finances, who told the outlet they were not authorized to publicly discuss the league’s finances.
“The truth is, this league would have a hard time surviving without the NBA.”
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has said publicly that the NBA has a “huge advantage” in terms of marketing to the women’s league, “especially when it comes to streaming services that rely on a 12-month subscription model.”
“If we were only there for four and a half months, how attractive would that be? But we and the NBA may be the only sports venues that can offer almost 330 days of live programming throughout the year. That’s a huge value proposition for a subscription platform.”
Nevertheless, another anonymous WNBA team executive acknowledged in the report that without the NBA’s financial backing, the WNBA would likely disappear, a notion that has long been voiced among sports fans.
“The truth is, this league would have a hard time surviving without the NBA.”
Despite her apparent success, it’s hard to imagine the WNBA marketing sensation, star Caitlin Clark, being the only force that will turn the league into a profitable business.
According to recent attendance reports, as of June 11, 2024, Clark has experienced an 87% increase in attendance at away games compared to the average attendance at opponents’ home games.
She will account for 33.5% of the WNBA’s total attendance in 2024. Live Sports.
The average attendance for Clarke’s games is also double the league average. The league average attendance is 7,645, but Clarke’s games see a 105% increase in attendance to 15,142. These latest figures support a recent sample size which found attendance for Clarke’s games was double that of other games played that same weekend.
Clark’s rise also translates into increased viewership: Through the first weekend of June 2024, WNBA games in which Clark played averaged 1.099 million viewers. Games without Clark averaged just 414,000 viewers.
Given this information, and with the league seemingly nowhere near turning a profit, WNBA players may want to be careful when complaining about Clark’s favoritism.
Complaints that charter planes are not luxurious could easily result in their cost being cut, which is about $25 million Per year.
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