NBA Versus WNBA Viewership: How the Two Compare
The NBA is one of the top sports leagues in the world. The WNBA is being watched and enjoyed in record numbers. So then, it is logical to wonder about the NBA versus WNBA viewership statistics. How do they stack up against each other?
Now for the record this isn’t some men versus women article. It is just to show how the women’s league has and IS growing on a massive scale. And who better to do a comparison with in order to observe growth; than a well established league like the NBA that consistently makes money?
The 2024 WNBA rookies ushered in a whole new wave of fans. Not only bringing much needed attention to the league but very talented veterans. This is causing a major growth spurt that is wonderful to see. Therefore, let’s begin.
The NBA Finals took a dip this past season. A 12% dip to be exact. According to Sports Pro Media,
“The Boston Celtics’ five-game Finals series win over the Dallas Mavericks averaged 11.3 million viewers. The 2024 National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs averaged 4.53 million viewers across ABC, ESPN and TNT – a 12 per cent decline on the previous year’s post-season.”
Nevertheless, since the WNBA has not had its postseason or championship game yet. Really can’t compare any stats there. So then, let’s just focus on the regular season tallies for now.
For the 2023-2024 regular season, the NBA viewership remained pretty steady with games averaging 1.6 million viewers. What about the WNBA? The Women’s National Basketball Association reports:
“Across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and CBS, WNBA games are averaging 1.32 million viewers, nearly tripling last season’s average (462,000 viewers). Additionally, WNBA arenas were filled to a 94% capacity, up 17% from last year.
Since the start of the season, WNBAStore.com has already set the record for the most single-season sales in store history as overall transactions are up 756% versus the same time period last year.
WNBA social channels garnered 157 million video views through the first week of the season, the most viewed WNBA tip-off week on social media ever and up 380% vs. last year.”
NBA Versus WNBA Viewership: How the Two Compare
Wild. So the men averaged 1.6 million and the ladies thus far are running smoothly at 1.3 million. Pretty close… and shows that the WNBA is gaining traction. So this is a development we will definitely keep our eyes on. But with exciting games, the Caitlin effect, A’ja magic, Olympics global stage, NY Liberty still dominant, Angel rivalry, ROTY race; Aces trying to 3-peat; and even more amazing women ballers coming down the pipeline. The WNBA is in a prime position to be the must watch sport of the summer.
A nice bridge to allow ultimate sports fans to go from NFL, to MLB as well NBA to the WNBA. A cocktail of sports to fill the entire year. What a time to be alive.
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