Accessed March 05, 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1098381/national-basketball-association-interest-gender/, Morning Consult. Women's college basketball gets more televised games than the WNBA, and that's part of the problem. Altogether, player-members average guaranteed earnings will skyrocket from about $85,000 to about $130,000 (+53%). Stiff said ESPN constantly strives for innovation in its coverage of the game. Last April, she wrote an honest and open essay for The Players' Tribune, called (In)visibility, in which she talks about all the hard work she put in to get to get to where she is today, and how disappointing it is that all that hard work goes relatively unnoticed. Back then womens sports on TV were a rarity. Lynx forward Rebekkah Brunson became the leagues all-time leading rebounder. But they want dunks. According to Forbes, "In 2021, viewership numbers dropped 12% to 331,000 average viewers but still yielded the second-largest viewership since the 2004 Draft (601,000 views)." The WNBA turned 25 this year and this is a positive sign for Cathy Engelbert's league to progress in the same direction. Most Super Bowl wins by NFL team 1967-2023, Average ticket price in the NFL by team 2021, FIFA World Ranking: top male soccer teams 2022, Athletic footwear global market share by company 2015, Health & Fitness Clubs - Statistics & Facts, Sporting goods industry in the U.S. - statistics & facts, Research expert covering sports and video gaming, Profit from additional features with an Employee Account. Each bar represents the share of any given stat category owned by a single player. She has to figure out a way to market a product to a core fan base that isn't exactly interested in the actual product. Number of viewers of the WNBA Finals on ESPN from 2003 to 2022 (in 1,000s) [Graph]. Moore also wondered in her essay why the fans that rooted her on at the University of Connecticut didn't follow her to the WNBA. As a UConn fan, why look elsewhere? But once the WNBA season wraps, several players head overseas to play internationally. So far this season, the WNBA has seen a 36 percent increase in viewership in adults age 18 to 49, a 29 percent jump in men in that age group and a 50 percent increase in women. Yet, outside of WNBA circles, they remain largely unknown. The survey conducted in May 2022 in the United States showed that 63 percent of female respondents had no interest in the NBA. The WNBA basketball also weighs in at 2 ounces lighter than a typical NBA basketball. Thank you for donating. The opening weekend recorded a 25% increase from the previous year and two weeks in, the WNBA was averaging 357,000 viewers across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2. A little down the list was an intriguing event when it comes to sports TV audiences: The 26th WNBA All-Star Game aired live at 1 p.m. on Sunday from Chicago's Wintrust Arena and averaged 734,000 . How do I know? Most people do not spend a lot of time watching inferior professional sports leagues. Diggins-Smith cited the lack of such a dedicated nursing space in her teams facility as a reason, along with postpartum depression, that she decided to sit out the entire 2019 WNBA season. Programs: Broadcast, Cable; WNBA: Regular Season, NBA: Regular Season. Currently, you are using a shared account. Other signs of triumph for WNBA stars . This is particularly true for women's sports, and female sports fans - which are both surging. said the Rev. The Biden administrationtackles exploitative child labor practices; Railroad reaches agreement on sick days; Supreme Court will look at CFPB funding. Hes literally telling women what they need to do to make their voice heard, Fieldsisbetter (@kwok_mason) April 1, 2021, Draymond isnt wrong How yall gonna get paid more when you not drawing NBA level revenue? Nope. Why do WNBA players earn 7 times less than their counterparts in the Im really tired of seeing them complain about the lack of pay, because theyre doing themselves a disservice by just complaining, Green said about female athletes. The WNBA has held the top position in the racial and gender report cards since the WNBA's inaugural report in 2004. The workplace benefits historically marginalized groups enjoy from unionization are well-documented. Public interest in WNBA in the U.S. 2022, by gender Basketball WNBA regular season TV viewers 2022 League overview Most popular women's sports leagues in North America June 2021 Most. Organizers and union leaders are drawing attention to old-school union-busting by new-economy employers, high-profile companies are employing migrant child workers, and new prospective Labor Secretary candidates are entering the conversation. An NBA Draft player must be at least 19 years old and have a minimum of one year post-secondary experience; however, a WNBA Draft player must be at least 22 years old. The WNBA has a social justice council that focuses on social justice programming and initiatives that include anti-racism training, voter registration and campaigning. And others just say they have no interest, period. Plus, the championship aired around dinner time on Easter Sunday. Jesse Jackson, founder and head of the organizations that merged to form Rainbow/PUSH, after reviewing the report card. Long story short, female basketball players. He thought about it. Success! It was the most-watched Game 1 of the semifinal round since the current WNBA playoff format began in 2016. They are on the level of a good high school boys team. Whether youre Read more. The players are obviously not nearly as good. The number of Black head coaches increased from three in 2020 to five in 2021. What do (Sports) Unions Do in a Pandemic? "It's so interesting, . Write by: . With regular-season viewership up 49 percent year-over-year, WNBA Viewership shows no signs of slowing down as the league continues to become more popular. I've pitched sports stories to female publications before and they are just not interested. Analysis On Why WNBA Athletes Should Be Paid | ipl.org They care about the basketball product. It's no secret that the WNBA has long struggled with viewership, especially in comparison to the NBA. . EclipseCloudF0475 (@CloudF0475) April 2, 2021. He knows there are others who have covered the game longer and have a great depth of knowledge on it. Right? The gap is even larger for single-gender sports, the report shows. This is how women get written out of history., She didnt tag Serrano in the tweet. Kelsey Plum on WNBA Viewership, That 'Tiny' All-Star MVP - Peoplemag While the overall rules of the game are the same, the WNBA court does have some adjustments to the sizing of certain areas. from what Im hearing hes plenty informed. If you are an admin, please authenticate by logging in again. Accessed March 05, 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1236700/wnba-finals-viewers/, ESPN.com, and Sports Media Watch. Are you interested in testing our business solutions? Indeed, the WNBAs reigning scoring champion, Britney Grinera towering 68 centerhad to contort into a middle coach seat to participate in last years All-Star Game. Theres no reason for me not to., Thats how it started: with her flicking me in the ear about it, he said. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. Ticket prices for the NBA average around $90 per ticket while the WNBA tickets cost around $18 on average. Wait. Please share BPR content to help combat the lies. We need more women to read, watch, and soak up women's sports the same way men do men's sports. They are taking away our advertising revenue, censoring our content,and threatening to de-platform us. In April 2021, a public service announcement featuring Layshia Clarendon, Nneka Ogwumike, Elizabeth Williams and A'ja Wilson debuted during the 2021 WNBA draft. First, the CBA now requires WNBA teams to pay full base salaries to player-members on maternity leave, a first among womens professional sports leagues in the United States. The percentage of majority owners and owners with voting power who are women was 33.3 percent in 2021. Im a very tiny part of a bigger thing, he said. Support for Working Mothers. Indeed, proof of this is in the pudding: 90% of WNBPA player-members voted for this CBAs ratification, nearly double the support garnered by the National Football League Players Association, which narrowly ratified its newly announced CBA with just 51.5% support. I think were starting to see the tip of the iceberg here.. In the extra session, with Kobe Bryant watching from the stands, Notre Dames ArikeOgunbowale hit thegame-winner with one-second left. What I want to focus on is what I believe to be the crux of the WNBA's problem. Today's news reinforces that. The WNBA has continued its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives where it left off after the 2020 season. That said, a unique dynamic underlaid this compensation negotiation: WNBPA player-members strongly desired an equal (50%) share of WNBA revenues to match the virtually equal revenue partnership their male NBPA counterparts enjoy with the NBA. Did you know? The WNBA needs more women to watch in order to stay viable. Two days later, ESPN expected a dip in the ratings for the championship game. Natalie Weiner (@natalieweiner)October 15, 2017, These very important people in, not just womens basketball history, but basketball history are excluded from this book that is ostensibly about the whole sport and not just about men in the sport, Weiner said. In Glacier Northwest, the Employer Wants the Court to Set Aside Sixty Years of Settled Law, Historic New EU Law Part of Growing Push for Sectoral Bargaining, The National Restaurant Associations Training Scheme Is Unconstitutional, Job Advertisements in NYC Must Include a Pay Range, 2019 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, unions have served as LGBTQ+ allies for decades, 83% of WNBPA members are persons of color; and 67% are black or African-American, boosts the ceiling on total individual cash compensation more than threefold, Though many thought the WNBPAs 50% revenue-sharing goal was unrealistic, a first among womens professional sports leagues, both conceal and play through her pregnancy, professional sports leader in LGBTQ+ inclusion, narrowly ratified its newly announced CBA with just 51.5% support, the best womens basketball league in the world.
