The 2024 WNBA Draft on ESPN garnered an average of 2.45 million viewers on ESPN, breaking a record for the most-watched iteration of the event. Iowa superstar guard and NCAA Division I Basketball all-time scoring leader Caitlin Clark was selected with the No. 1 overall pick by the Indiana Fever, officially beginning her career in the WNBA. Additional selections included Stanford forward Cameron Brink, LSU forward Angel Reese and South Carolina center Kamilla Cardosa.
In the games that Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes played during the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament, ESPN reported several viewership milestones and new records. Although the team did not win the National Championship, the game drew an average of 18.7 million viewers and peaked at 24 million, up 89% from the year prior when Iowa faced LSU. The women’s tournament as a whole averaged 2.2 million viewers on ESPN, ABC and ESPN2, which is more than two times the total from the year prior.
The most-viewed WNBA Draft of all time ahead of Monday’s event from the Brooklyn Academy of Music was set in 2004 when Diana Taurasi was selected first overall by the Phoenix Mercury. An average of 601,000 viewers watched the Draft during that year, making this year’s broadcast up approximately 308% from that time. Last year’s Draft averaged 512,000 viewers when Aliyah Boston was selected by the Indiana Fever with the first-overall pick. This year’s WNBA Draft, which is up 328% year-over-year, is the first time the event has surpassed 1 million viewers and is the largest audience for any WNBA event in 23 years.
ESPN’s coverage of the WNBA Draft included the lead WNBA on ESPN broadcast team of play-by-play announcer Ryan Ruocco, color commentator Rebecca Lobo and Holly Rowe. ESPN basketball analyst Andraya Carter also took part in the coverage, which was preceded by a live edition of WNBA Countdown featuring LaChina Robinson, Chiney Ogwumike and Carolyn Peck. Elle Duncan hosted SportsCenter live from the Brooklyn Academy of Music where Carter and Ogwumike previewed the WNBA Draft leading up to coverage on ESPN.
Last year’s WNBA Finals were the most-watched in 20 years, averaging 728,000 viewers on ESPN. A WNBA contest has not surpassed an average of 1 million viewers in 16 years, something that could change once Clark begins her career. Thirty-six of the 40 Indiana Fever games will be carried by national media platforms, eight of which are on linear channels owned by The Walt Disney Company.
