Broadcast
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July 17, 2024
WNBA Strikes It Rich With $2 Billion in Media-Rights Deals
The WNBA’s boom in popularity couldn’t have come at a better time for the league. With its media deals expiring after the 2025 season, the WNBA was negotiating with potential partners at a historic peak of popularity. And it paid off, as the league agreed to $2.2 billion in new...
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July 1, 2024
ESPN to Launch Futbol W: Weekly Women’s Soccer Studio Program
ESPN has announced the launch of Futbol W, a weekly studio program that will comprehensively cover professional women’s soccer. The show will debut on ESPN2 on Tuesday, July 23, beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET, simulcast on ESPN+. Weekly episodes will stream live on ESPN+ Tuesdays at 6 p.m. and available on-demand...
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June 25, 2024
Caitlin Clark, Fever vs. Angel Reese, Sky Draws 2.3M Viewers; WNBA-High Since 2001
The Chicago Sky's 88-87 win over the Indiana Fever on Sunday drew the largest audience for a WNBA game in 23 years. ESPN announced its broadcast averaged 2.3 million viewers and peaked at 3.3 million as the Sky's Angel Reese faced off with Indiana's Caitlin Clark. Following the Fever's 91-79...
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June 18, 2024
iHeartMedia Reveals Women’s Sports Audio Network, Lineup
iHeartMedia and Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment officially announced the launch of the Women's Sports Audio Network (WSAN) and its first slate of shows Monday (June 18) morning. WSAN, which will serve as the first-ever audio platform dedicated exclusively to women's sports, will spotlight and celebrate female athletes and give an in-depth look...
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June 14, 2024
WNBA Could Quadruple Media-Rights Fees to $240 Million Annually
Caitlin Clark is a force multiplier for attendance, TV ratings—and now WNBA media-rights fees. Riding the wave that crested with Clark, the WNBA could quadruple its annual rights payout from TV partners, sources tell Front Office Sports. The 12-team women’s basketball league currently draws a comically low $60 million per year...
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May 29, 2024
Nearly Every WNBA Broadcaster Has Set a Ratings Record This Season
Six networks have seen their most-watched WNBA games ever. All but one of those telecasts featured Caitlin Clark. FOS
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May 29, 2024
Nearly Every WNBA Broadcaster Has Set a Ratings Record This Season
Imagine a sports league is drawing up a game plan to set a bevy of new viewership marks across nearly all its broadcast partners. It’s highly unlikely they would plan to rely on a rookie leading a team with a lone victory and the second-worst record in that league one-fifth of the...
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May 20, 2024
Women’s sports draws 20.6m UK viewers in first four months of 2024
The Women’s Sport Trust report, with data from Futures Sport & Entertainment, revealed from January 1 to April 30 TV viewing for women’s sport in the UK was at record level. Audiences for women’s sport climbed from 20.6 million in 2023 to 20.9 million. The organisation said the increase was...
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May 15, 2024
Caitlin Clark WNBA Debut Earns Best Ratings Since 2001, Tops NHL
On a crowded Tuesday night full of pivotal NBA and NHL playoff games, the WNBA carved out a sizeable piece of the national television pie with its opening night doubleheader. Caitlin Clark’s regular-season debut with the Indiana Fever against the Connecticut Sun pulled in an average audience of 2.12 million viewers on ESPN2,...
