We’ve written a thousand stories on the tidal wave women’s sports are riding, and we’ll gladly write a thousand more. Not just for the fans, but for the ones still mumbling “no one cares.” Spoiler: people do care, a lot. Gone are the days when women’s sports received just 4 -5% of the larger media coverage pie. The coverage has now climbed to around 15–16%. If you’re still not convinced, the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning journalist, Sarah Spain, has a glowing resume of the league’s youngest franchise as proof. 

She revealed it in response to a question that EssentiallySports’ Chloe V. Mitchell asked her at the All-Star event. “What’s one outdated norm that still lingers in how women’s sports stories are told?” Sarah gasped before answering, “Oh my God, how much time do you have?” and then straight away called out the same old “annoying retort of, like, no one cares or no one watches.” 

Why was she so positive about how the norm exists in a vacuum now?

“The biggest difference is when I started in my career, now is that we actually have the black and white data,” she said. So, as she recommended, expect us to start leading with cold, hard facts. Starting right now:

• The average WNBA game attendance per game jumped 48%, from 6,615 to 9,807 in 2024.
• 1.2 million supporters paid to watch a WNBA game in the 2022 regular season, and that figure more than doubled by 2024.
• The league has finalized an 11-year, $2.2 billion media rights deal (roughly $200 million per year) starting in 2026.
• CBS viewership rose 86% year over year (1.1 million average viewers), while Ion surged 133% (670,000).
• And the WNBA is seizing the moment, with plans to expand to 18 teams by 2030.

But these days, the data also comes wrapped in violet and gold – the signature colors of the league’s flashy new 13th team, the Golden State Valkyries. “Okay, well, the WNBA Golden State Valkyries expansion team is worth $600 million, and they haven’t even played a full season yet,” Spain added and without missing a beat, she aimed straight at the doubters: “Find me another company worth $600 million that you’re like, ‘no one cares,’ or, ‘I don’t want to be in business with that.’” 

Well, she is spot on. Just around a month ago, Sportico pegged the Valkyries at a staggering $500 million. This figure eclipses the previous benchmark set by the Liberty at $420 million and towers over the Indiana Fever’s $335 million. And beyond that, in the race to hit a $1 billion valuation, the young San Francisco franchise may already be outpacing the Brooklyn-based team in its 28th WNBA season. That’s the highest valuation ever for a women’s sports franchise.

Adding to that, the Indiana Fever led the WNBA in revenue last season with a total haul of around $32 million across all business operations. The Valkyries? They’re set to blow right past that, and they haven’t even played a full season yet. According to Forbes, the team has already bagged at least $20 million in sponsorship deals this season. They’re now expected to rake in another $35 million from their 10,000 season-ticket holders and premium packages.

Sure, these valuations are more about investors’ optimism than current balance sheets. But in a league where financial footing was shaky not too long ago, the Valkyries have emerged as proof that what once felt fragile now carries the weight of possibility. With that fact on the table, Sarah Spain shifted from podcaster to businesswoman. “And for me, that’s what you lead with. Stop trying to convince people to have a brain about it and start just appealing to the capitalism that we know runs everything.” 

These lines are proof that the league might have cracked the code to connecting with audiences. And funnily enough, Sarah Spain has her own method to do that, one she exclusively shared with EssentiallySports. 

Sarah Spain’s Four S’s

It’s nothing complicated. It’s something we’ve seen work for decades – on the men’s side. For Sarah Spain, it’s about: story, stakes, stats, and stars. Repeat it with us: story, stakes, stats, and stars. That reads like a tongue twister, right? That’s the point: once it’s stuck in your head, you start seeing it everywhere.

Think about the NBA. Would you really be glued to Celtics vs. Lakers if you didn’t know about the Bill Russell-Wilt Chamberlain battles, the Magic vs. Bird era, or the Kobe vs. Pierce showdowns? Would Warriors vs. Cavs have meant as much without knowing the LeBron-Steph rivalry, or Kyrie’s dagger in Game 7? Or would Derrick Rose’s return to the United Center in November 2016, wearing a different jersey, have hit the same if he hadn’t been Chicago’s favorite son? The same rules apply here.

Sarah Spain first cracked this formula while writing a chapter for The Little Book of Life Skills. Her assignment was to talk about “How to Watch Sports.” It made her rewind and think about the basics. “If I took someone to, say, a Chicago Cubs game for the first time,” she thought, “ what would I want to tell them so that they had a great time, as opposed to just staring at a field and not knowing how the game works or what the rules are?” There she had it: “I thought I’d need to tell them the story, stakes, stats, and stars.”

She broke it down further for us with examples. “If you’re just showing up to women’s sports, I’m going to use full names. I’m not going to use nicknames or acronyms for the leagues and for the players. I’m going to tell you who the stars are and why you should care about them,” she explained while speaking exclusively to Essentiallysports.

Then came the stats. “I’m going to tell you who’s about to break a stat or what stat matters. Is 40 points a lot or not a lot in a game? Maybe they don’t know that.” And, of course, the stories and the stakes. “Is this a regular-season game or a playoff game? Then the stories are the obvious part. Why should you care? This player just got traded. Is this their first game back? Are they married to someone on the other team? Are they married to someone on their own team?”

Well, we’re glad we managed to steal a moment with Sarah Spain. Her insights were sharp, and it’s safe to say we’ll be taking a page from her playbook to keep you guys informed and entertained.