2024 has been a landmark year for women’s basketball, with record viewership, increased fan engagement, and growing international attention. Although this is partly due to increased funding and visibility, the largest factor is undoubtedly Caitlin Clark, the 22-year-old basketball sensation.
Caitlin Clark first started making waves in high school, playing both football and basketball at a high level. She ultimately made the decision to pursue basketball at a collegiate level: a decision that clearly paid off! Staying in the state she was born in, Clark led an outstanding college career at the University of Iowa. She led her team to multiple deep NCAA tournament runs and drew mainstream media attention with clips of what has now become her signature shot: a three-pointer from the logo, also known as the ‘logo 3’.
Each March Madness became more and more popular, and the narrative created between her and Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese (then LSU) garnered attention. Her style of play is distinctive (especially her ability to create opportunities) and her refreshing confidence draws a broader audience to women’s sports. She was compared to Steph Curry for her deep three-point shooting, court vision and versatility as both a scorer and playmaker. Ultimately, her play style helped to challenge outdated stereotypes about women’s basketball being slower or less exciting than the men’s equivalent.
The 2024 NCAA championship final between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Iowa Hawkeyes (Clark’s team) was seen by 18.7 million viewers, the largest audience ever for a women’s basketball game in the US, and it was the most-watched basketball game of any kind on ESPN for five years. Even though Clark’s team were defeated by the unbeaten Gamecocks, their head coach, Dawn Staley, credited her impact on the sport: ‘I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport. She carried a heavy load for our sport and it’s not going to stop here’.
It became clear very quickly that Clark would be the first draft pick in her class, not just for her incredible skill, but for the audience she would inevitably bring to her team, and so, it came to no one’s surprise when the Indiana Fever selected Clark as their pick in the 2024 draft. Less than a month later, she was poised to make her professional debut.
WNBA viewership and ticket sales surged following Clark’s entrance into the league. During the regular season, the (Indiana) Fever drew an average of 17,036 fans, which was the most in WNBA history. In one season, the Fever went from ranking 11th out of 12 teams in attendance to easily leading the league.
She has helped to attract non-traditional basketball fans, including more male viewers, younger audiences, and even international attention. Clark is also bringing new sponsorship opportunities to the WNBA, with her eight-year $28 million deal leading the way. She has managed to translate her collegiate stardom into professional influence, and therefore has played a transformative role in sparking renewed interest in the WNBA.
2024 marked the most-viewed regular season ever across ESPN platforms with an average of 1.19 million viewers (a 170% increase from last season). Media networks know what viewers want. 36 of the 40 regular season games that were broadcast on national television featured the Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark’s team, and the Fever played in all of the WNBA’s 15 most-watched games this season.
The hope is that this success lasts, with Clark acting as the catalyst for future generations. She is broadening the cultural relevance of women’s basketball as it continues to grow.
‘The Caitlin Clark effect’ has, and will, drive the WNBA to even greater heights, solidifying women’s basketball as a global force, and hopefully, inspiring future stars.