IOWA CITY, IOWA- Guard Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates after breaking the NCAA …
It is Caitlin Clark mania right now. If Clark’s Iowa Hawkeye’s beat the LSU Tigers in their Finals rematch from last season ESPN will enjoy record ratings for the semi-finals- and if Clark is in the NCAA Finals, the ratings will be record setting and eye popping. However, the question is whether this ratings bonanza surrounding Clark’s college career will sustain itself when Clark enters the WNBA next year
Cathy Engelbert, the WNBA Commissioner has done an outstanding job building value in the WNBA. Revenues are up substantially, more brand partners have signed on, and WNBA franchise values have skyrocketed. Some wonder why professional basketball has arguably the greatest gender pay gap of any profession. The average WNBA salary is about $150,000 per season while the NBA average salary is roughly $10 million. The reason is simple. The WNBA TV viewership does not reach a mass audience despite their increase in TV ratings over the past few seasons under Cathy Engelbert’s expert leadership.
The WNBA hopes to change all that spearheaded by the hype surrounding Caitlin Clark, and to a lesser extent LSU’s Angel Reese, UConns Paige Bueckers, and Stanford’s Cameron Brink. Clark’s run to the NCAA Finals last season drew a whopping 10 million viewers when her Iowa Hawkeyes matched up against Angel Reese and the LSU Tigers. Women’s college basketball is front and center on the nations consciousness and if Clark makes it to the Finals again the ratings will likely exceed last year’s record breaking viewership.
These athletes will be in the WNBA next year and the league is hoping the interest in their play sticks. In an attempt to ride this wave, The WNBA has created a campaign designed to migrate viewers from women’s college basketball to the WNBA.
If you look at history, the probability is that the carryover will not meet viewership expectations and will certainly do little to narrow the gender pay gap. Yes attendance will increase in Indiana where Caitlin Clark will be playing. But what the WNBA really needs is mass viewership in order to make a measurable difference in overall player compensation.
Case in point is Sabrina Ionescu, who most recently garnered national attention for the great skill she displayed while going head-to-head with Stephen Curry in a 3 point shooting contest during NBA All Star Weekend. Ionescu was a standout player at the University of Oregon, tutored by Kobe Bryant, and generated immense excitement and anticipation upon her entry into the WNBA. Her debut garnered considerable attention and temporarily boosted TV ratings. However, while Ionescu’s arrival injected a surge of interest and media buzz, her impact on sustaining long-term growth in viewership proved to be limited.
Moreover, the WNBA struggled to attract significant television audiences compared to other professional sports leagues despite the recent impressive growth in viewership. Despite all the hype around increased ratings the total viewing audience for the WNBA Finals was an audience of less than 750,000. Compare that to the 10 million people that watched Caitlin Clark battle Angel Reese last year in the NCAA Finals.
Caitlin Clark’s colossal impact on television ratings was undeniably felt within the realm of women’s college basketball so the hope is that she can be the savior. Her remarkable performances on the collegiate stage not only captivated audiences but also propelled the sport into the mainstream spotlight, drawing significant media exposure and sparking widespread interest. However, the question remains: will her anticipated entry into the WNBA yield a similar impact on TV ratings, or will it follow the trend in line with previous college stars like Sabrina Ionescu, whose transition to the professional league had minimal long-term effects on overall ratings?
For those hoping that Clark’s WNBA debut will have a profound impact on the gender pay gap that exists between the WNBA and NBA, don’t hold your breath. Even though Clark will certainly have an uptick on the WNBA’s popularity she may end up much like Ionescu with a big spike in initial interest that will ultimately flatten out. No doubt Clark will continue to get some great marketing deals, but it is unlikely that viewership for the entire league will skyrocket to mass reach proportion, nor will her entry into the WNBA shrink the massive pay gap between WNBA and NBA players.
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