23.37 million. That’s the number of unique viewers the league was watched by across games and wrap shows last year. Credit it to the entire class of 2024 or the trickle-down effect of Caitlin Clark, but the growth everyone got to savor had Lexie Brown saying, “We living the dream.” It may have come in the form of facilities for her and in the form of revenue generated for the league. For fans, however, the impact was felt closer to home (Quite literally). And speaking for all us? That’s Sheryl Swoopes.

You think rise of the WNBA, you think Caitlin Clark. Her Indiana Fever games drove 45% of the total broadcast value. She accounted for 26.5% of all league-wide activity—attendance, merchandise, and TV. One in every six tickets sold? Clark. Fever crowds nearly doubled the league average. And that’s just scratching the surface. We can see the impact further emphasised when the league decided to broadcast 44 of 41 Indiana Fever games on ESPN this season.

But you see, the league’s recent steps and decisions point towards an even brighter side– the rest of the players are in demand, and the league is not missing a chance to spotlight that. The first indicator? For the first time ever, every WNBA preseason game will be made available via national broadcast or through online streaming this year. And the league made sure everything about it ran smoothly. Well, Sheryl Swoopes is impressed after all the mishandling for so long, specifically last year involving Angel Reese & Co.

“I think they listened, right? Can I just say something? Okay, maybe it’s a little shade, but it’s okay. I am going to throw a little shade. I was just surprised that even on League Pass that it’s actually working. Because I remember times when it was not working,” Swoopes admitted on The Women’s Hoops show.

The last preseason saw a major outrage among the fans on the same topic. Initially, it was said that all preseason games would be streamed on League Pass, but that did not transpire. In fact, because fans hadn’t been able to avail the services during Reese’s first-ever W game, one of the attendees had to stream it live on X. The response? 2 million views. The league had to issue a public apology for that. Even the games that were being streamed had numerous issues, like people being blocked out and no score or time reflected on the screen.

The league has been witness to the growth since then. WNBA Chief Growth Officer Colie Edison admits that it has prompted them to adhere to fan needs via clear communication with their broadcasting partners.

“We’ve seen the demand for WNBA content grow exponentially and we are meeting that demand by working with our broadcast partners and our teams to make a significant investment by making all 15 preseason games available to WNBA fans,” he said.

The demand was visible when 1.1 million people tuned in for the Game 1 of the finals last year. It was the highest viewership recorded on that stage. The demand was visible yet again when Angel Reese and Chicago Sky got their deserved coverage this pre-season and about 300k people tuned in on ION for the first game. For Caitlin Clark & Co., that number stood at 1.3 million on ESPN and peaked at 1.6 million. And it isn’t just them.

We can now start to move beyond with youngsters like Paige Bueckers and Dominque Malonga coming in. The former’s debut game saw about 400k in viewership. The league had four preseason games streaming last time; now they have fourteen. So you get the point. There were a few blunders, there was growth, and the league ensured to recognize all of it. None is happier than Sheryl Swoopes.

“It’s so good, like I was sitting at home over the weekend like, Oh, preseason games. Okay, let me see where I can watch. Oh, it was so easy to find. Like we got games on ION, on ESPN. I was like, What in the…what is going on ?” she added. 

The WNBA has struck multiple broadcasting deals with ESPN, ION, CBS and a couple more broadcasters. They have also made the local streaming services available for specific teams. Now, the league has made a genuine effort to give its customers the best and its players a platform they can shine on. There will be more eyes on the stars like Caitlin, Paige, Angel, and the veterans too. The likes of A’ja Wilson will get to show to a broader audience why they are considered so highly. The only question is, will these stars be able to step up with more eyes on them than ever in the history of the league?

Massive fan response continues while Caitlin Clark makes bold claim

Clark’s preseason game against Brazil was just a trailer of what’s to come. 15,000 fans jam-packed the Carver-Hawkeyes Arena and it almost seemed like a playoff game at times. Clark did not disappoint her home fans, pulling up with multiple threes and one even from the logo. It’s not just the statistics that people love about Clark. It’s the way she plays the game. Sure, we can talk numbers, wins, passes, everything but the sheer joy people get by watching her play is immeasurable.

Now if that wasn’t enough to build expectations, Clark exuded confidence for the new season that has fans crossing their fingers. When asked how this season should look, she replied with just two words, “a championship.” 

The fans are hyped, the team is ready to go, but even a tiny slip from Clark will be closely monitored by rivals and spectators alike. More eyes come with more pressure. Can Clark handle it? Well, this isn’t her first rodeo. Last year, she did not look like a rookie coming off a title game with immense expectations on her shoulders. The competition and pressure seem to just make her better. Now with new additions to the team she has nodded along to, expect her to only tread upwards.