With women’s basketball at an all-time high right now, it is the perfect time for the WNBA to attract new fans. The Caitlin Clark effect is real and with these big name stars like Clark and Angel Reese entering the WNBA Draft this spring, the league needs to capitalize on their popularity to bring in new fans.

It is undeniable that Caitlin Clark is the biggest name in basketball right now, if not all sports. The LSU-Iowa game was the most watched women’s college basketball game in history. It averaged 12.3 million viewers on ESPN and was one of the most-viewed games in any sport other than NFL football over the past year.

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There are lots of headlines touting Monday night’s @marchmadnesswbb Elite Eight showdown between Iowa and LSU as the all time ratings record for a “women’s college basketball game,” but that’s not the whole story! In fact, as you can see from this graphic from @FOS, this not only… pic.twitter.com/vcTbS0D6kT

— Maria Shriver (@mariashriver) April 5, 2024

Compare this to the 2023 WNBA Finals which averaged 728,000 viewers. The WNBA needs to use Clark as their meal ticket to higher viewership.

What the WNBA is doing before the rookies enter the league

The WNBA marketing team has stepped up their game and posted three hilarious videos to social media to promote the WNBA Draft coming up. The videos include current WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Arike Ogunbowale.

These playful commercials help build up hype for fans anticipating the new talent entering the league. This is definitely the most popular group of draftees and the WNBA needs women’s college basketball fans to transfer over to the league. The WNBA is expanding in 2025 and still has many other expansion and CBA issues at hand. Increased revenue will help resolve all the problems.

With the first pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, the Indiana Fever select…

The Indiana Fever also posted a not so subtle nod to their first overall pick with the number 22 featured on the back of a Fever jersey. It is presumed they will select Clark who currently wears number 22 for Iowa.

The Clark effect has already shown itself in the league with Fever ticket sales. Vivid Seats reported on March 1, one day after Clark declared for the draft:

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Indiana is catching Caitlin Clark Fever 🥵🎟️

As the likely No. 1 overall pick, Clark declared for the WNBA draft yesterday — with the @IndianaFever holding the top pick.

Since then, the average ticket price to see the Fever in action next season has more than DOUBLED from last… pic.twitter.com/fFjDOP3223

— Vivid Seats (@VividSeats) March 1, 2024

The timing of the star power and popularity is also perfect because the WNBA’s media rights deal is up in 2025. So the anticipated boost in ratings and ticket sales that Clark and the other young stars bring this season will have a huge impact on that negotiation. This will translate to more revenue for the league allowing for potentially chartered flights and more expansion.

Women’s basketball is here, it is respected and it is not going anywhere.

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• Source: https://thegamehaus.com/sports/wnba-capitalizing-on-march-madness/2024/04/06/