As it looks to expand with the addition of several franchises in the short term, the WNBA welcomes its growing popularity. As proof, the women’s league had its most watched regular season in 21 years, with an audience up 21% on the channels of ABC, CBS, ESPN and ESPN2. On ABC, a national channel, the WNBA attracted an average of 627,000 viewers, making it most watched regular season on ABC for 11 years.
Cumulatively, the 2023 WNBA regular season reached more than 36 million unique viewers across national networks, the highest number since 2008, an increase of 27% compared to 2022. The All-Star Game, broadcast on ABC, is the most watched edition in 16 years, with an average of 850,000 viewers and a peak of 955,000 viewers. An All-Star Weekend marked by Sabrina Ionescu’s 3-point feat.
Same success for the Draft which attracted 572,000 viewers on ESPN, an increase of 42% compared to last year. This is the most watched Draft since 2004.
Nearly 10,000 spectators on average for the Aces
In the halls, the public is increasing in number with an overall increase of 16% compared to 2022, and an average of 6,615 spectators per match. This is a record since 2018. Cumulatively, the WNBA recorded its highest number of spectators in 13 years with 1,587,488 tickets sold.
2022 WNBA champions, the Las Vegas Aces are pulling the WNBA up with the biggest increase: +66% more spectators, to reach an average of 9,551 spectators per game. It’s a league record, and the Aces also have the single-game record with 17,406 people for the Phoenix Mercury’s visit on September 10, the last day of the regular season.
