The 2024 WNBA Draft on ESPN was the most-viewed edition of the event in league history, averaging 2.45 million viewers and peaking at 3.09 million viewers. These numbers followed record-breaking viewership of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament, including a National Championship Game that averaged 18.1 million viewers. Iowa guard and NCAA Division I Basketball all-time scoring leader Caitlin Clark was selected No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever on Monday, which led to her jersey being sold out in all sizes within the first hour on Fanatics. Courtney Cox discussed these metrics on Wednesday’s edition of The Greg Hill Show on WEEI and explained their significance in the landscape of women’s basketball and sports as a whole.
Clark has made a palpable impact on women’s sports, evidenced through viewership numbers during the NCAA Tournament, her growing NIL portfolio and impact on young athletes. The WNBA is coming off a record-breaking 2023 regular season that attained over 36 million total unique viewers across all national networks. The WNBA Finals between the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty averaged 728,000 viewers on ESPN, making it the most-watched championship round for the league in 20 years. No WNBA game has surpassed 1 million viewers in 16 years, but there is evidence suggesting that the league is about to embark on a paradigm shift.
“I just think that this could be a turning of tides,” Cox said. “I’m not saying overnight that they’re going to have the same numbers as the NBA at all.”
Co-host Jermaine Wiggins expressed that the league needs to cease playing in the summertime because of the nice weather and the fact that people are outside. Show producer Chris Curtis then utilized an example of NBC morning host Hoda Kotb discussing the pay gap between Clark and NBA players on her show to demonstrate how the league is receiving more attention. Curtis did not think Kotb had ever discussed the WNBA on her program and implored people to discuss and support the league if they want other people to watch and reciprocate through conversation.
Basketball fans were stunned to find out that Clark will be making $76,535 in her rookie year and a total of $338,056 in her four-year contract, prompting several people to call for equal pay between women and men. Cox stated that journalist Jemele Hill did a good job in saying to stop comparing the NBA and WNBA and how much she is making compared to other first-overall draft picks.
She believes that the topic goes beyond whether or not she should be making as much as an NBA player, articulating that it is a “shockingly low number” for somebody who is being regarded as the face of women’s basketball. Nonetheless, Cox believes that there is a chance she will revolutionize the sport and help grow its overall fanbase.
“Listen, no one cares about the WNBA – that’s it,” Wiggins countered later in the discussion. “We talk about Caitlin Clark. Her biggest fame is going to be from when she played in college basketball. She’s going to go to the WNBA, and she’s going to be like all those great WNBA players. She’s just going to kind of fade off into never, never land.”
Co-host Greg Hill is not sure that will happen, asking why women and men tuned in to watch the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament at record levels. Curtis replied by stating that it was an event people are into, similar to when Michael Phelps competed for his 12th gold medal or when there is a chance for a Triple Crown to be attained in horse racing. Wiggins feels that the reason behind the numbers was the drama being built up with LSU and star player Angel Reese, who defeated Clark in the 2022 National Championship Game.
“I think it was because she was setting a record when it came to men and women in points scoring in NCAA Basketball,” Hill conveyed. “I think that people go, ‘Who is this woman? She’s incredible. I’m going to tune in and watch.’ Maybe that will happen with the WNBA. I think it’s probably unlikely, but it might happen.”
Cox postulated that it is salient to invest in Clark if there is an interest in growing the sport, something that was evident over her time with the Iowa Hawkeyes. Furthermore, she cannot understand why those interacting with the show through Twitch or the text line are “butthurt” when they bring up the argument about Clark’s salary. Wiggins concluded that companies will struggle to find a return on investment when people do not know about and/or watch WNBA games.
The point is the female basketball players that were successful in college – like a Breanna Stewart; Aliyah Boston – once they got out of college, all eyes are off of them,” Wiggins argued.
“And I’m just saying there could be a change here with Caitlin Clark,” Cox replied.
