The WNBA finished the first month of the new season on a high note.
The league recorded its highest ever television broadcast and attendance numbers in May, the W’s announced Monday afternoon.
In May, WNBA games drew nearly 400,000 fans, the largest attendance for the opening month of the season in the past 26 years, and the league boasted that more than half of WNBA games were sold out, a 156% increase from last year.
Arenas across the WNBA league also averaged 94% capacity.
Michel Farshi/New York Post
Growing interest in the WNBA has led to new ratings records for the league’s broadcast partners, with this season seeing the highest viewership ever across all channels.
WNBA games are averaging 1.32 million viewers across the ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and CBS networks, triple last year’s average of 462,000.
“What’s happening right now in women’s basketball confirms what we’ve known all along: the demand is there and women’s sports is a worthwhile investment,” chief growth officer Cory Edison said in a statement. “We’re encouraged by increased engagement across all areas, especially as we welcome new and diverse audiences into our fandom. As our league embraces this growing momentum, the WNBA continues to see sustained growth.”
Following the release of May’s attendance and viewing figures, it would be hard not to point out the Caitlin Clark effect.
There’s been a lot of discussion about Clark, with the Fever’s first three games this season all setting records for the most-watched games in WNBA game history on their respective networks.
The season opener between the Fever and the Sun on May 14 averaged 2.12 million viewers on ESPN 2, the Fever vs. Liberty on May 18 averaged 1.71 million viewers on ABC, and on May 20, 1.56 million viewers tuned in for the Sun vs. Fever game on ESPN.
In its announcement, the WNBA also revealed that WNBA League Pass subscribers increased by 335%.
