The regular-season slate of games in the WNBA on ESPN platforms attained record viewership throughout the year, providing momentum heading into the playoffs as the top eight teams battle for the league championship. No WNBA live game broadcast had surpassed an average of 1 million viewers in 16 years, a metric that was shattered within this new season. There have been more than 15 games that have eclipsed this viewership mark throughout the season, several of which aired on Disney-owned networks such as ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC.
ESPN platforms averaged 1.2 million viewers across its broadcasts of WNBA games, according to data from Nielsen Media Research, representing a 170% increase from last season’s average. The Walt Disney Company recently signed a new 11-year media rights deal with the National Basketball Association that includes rights to WNBA live game broadcasts, granting it the ability to broadcast postseason games and the WNBA Finals.
ESPN and its affiliated networks aired several marquee matchups during the 2024 regular season, starting with Opening Week doubleheaders featuring the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, New York Liberty and Los Angeles Sparks. Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese were both named all-stars in their first season, and matchups featuring both players garnered strong average viewership across several platforms. ESPN recently aired its final live game broadcast for the 2024 season between the Aces and Liberty from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Preceding these live game broadcasts, WNBA Countdown took the air featuring Elle Duncan, Chiney Ogwumike and LaChina Robinson. The studio-style show attained an average of 508,000 viewers throughout the regular season, a 113% rise above the full-season average from the previous league year.
Coverage of the WNBA on ESPN platforms will continue throughout the playoffs, which could feature up to 27 live game broadcasts. This will culminate with the presentation of the WNBA Finals, the final series of the year which has aired at least in part on ESPN networks since the 2001 season. The Walt Disney Company served as the exclusive home of the WNBA Finals for the first time in 2003 when the Detroit Shock defeated the Los Angeles Sparks in three games. Over the last several years, the lead broadcast team of Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo and Holly Rowe has been on the call for the championship round action.
