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"It was buried for so long" - 3x WNBA champion cites Caitlin Clark’s fame to call out network’s alleged disregard for women’s league
WNBA star Candace Parker was a guest on Wednesday's episode of "The Deal with Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly." Parker called out ESPN for its apparent disregard for women's basketball and the treatment the women's league received before its recent boom in popularity following Caitlin Clark's arrival.
The three-time champion blamed ESPN for not doing enough to promote the WNBA.
"The first time they put the Women's NCAA game on ABC was the first year that Caitlin Clark made the championship game," Parker said. "Are you surprised that the viewership was up? Are you surprised that people actually saw the product? It was buried for so long on ESPN.
"The NBA doesn't want to clash with NFL playoffs or NFL opening week. So why would we then put the WNBA? I don't care if that's the time slot that they're giving you. Let's fight for another one or let's find something else."
The WNBA has started to get more exposure as new fans have started to watch games. During the 2024 season, the league set multiple records for viewership and attendance. According to the league, the association reached a record of "54 million unique viewers," which includes data from ABC, CBS, ESPN, ESPN2, ION and NBA TV.
This past season, the WNBA saw a 48% rise in attendance, its greatest level to date.
During the 2023 season, the league averaged 505,000 viewers across multiple platforms. Average attendance was just 6,615 per game.
Caitlin Clark helped increase the Fever's engagement this season
Clark set new viewership records for her team, the Indiana Fever. According to Joe Pompliano, the Indiana franchise sold 100% of its season ticket inventory, which was part of a 264% increase in attendance from the previous season.
The team also had the most nationally televised games (38) for the WNBA this season. Indiana's Game 1 contest against the Connecticut Sun in the first round of the playoffs accumulated 1.8 million viewers.
On social media, Indiana had more views than any team in the WNBA, NBA, NFL, NHL, or MLB. The Fever also became the most-followed WNBA team on social media.
Clark also affected product sales. The Fever saw a 1,193% increase in shirt sales over the previous season. Transactions in the team store also increased by 700%.
The former Iowa Hawkeyes star helped put the league and her team on the map in her rookie season. Her presence should continue to amplify the league for years to come and potentially set more viewership records.
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