With Caitlin Clark among the attendees, the WNBA draft on ESPN Monday night garnered an average of 2.45 million viewers, making it the most-watched WNBA draft ever.
The peak viewership for the draft, ESPN’s most-watched WNBA event ever, was 3.09 million, a 307% increase compared to the previous viewership record set in 2004, when 610,000 people tuned in to see Diana Taurasi, a University of Connecticut product, go first overall to the Phoenix Mercury.
The draft was the highest-rated WNBA telecast since a Memorial Day 2000 game aired by NBC averaged 2.74 million viewers, according to ESPN.
In 2023, 572,000 people watched the WNBA draft, according to ESPN. This year, women especially helped drive the spike in viewership. The 1.06 million women who watched the draft represent a 374% increase in eyeballs compared to 2023.
On Monday, Iowa guard and shooting sensation Clark went first overall to the Indiana Fever.
Clark is the all-time NCAA scoring leader, male or female.
Recognizing her ability to draw so many new viewers, Clark’s new WNBA team is slated to have 36 of its 40 games broadcast on national television, the league announced on April 10, correctly anticipating the first overall pick.
Other big names taken at the draft included Chicago Sky draftees Brazilian center Kamilla Cardoso, part of the undefeated South Carolina squad that bested Clark in the 2024 NCAA women’s basketball championship on April 7, forward Angel Reese, whose LSU team beat out Clark and Iowa in the 2023 championship game.
The 2024 championship showdown between South Carolina and Iowa drew 18.9 million viewers, outstripping the men’s championship, which had only 14.8 million viewers, for the first time according to Nielsen.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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