2022 WNBA regular season viewership reaches 14-year high

The GIST: The WNBA is putting up numbers. On Wednesday, the league announced that the 2022 regular season was its most-watched in 14 years and audience engagement increased across multiple channels. Call that a media triple-double.

The details: Average viewership across ESPN’s networks and CBS hit 379K this year, marking a 16% increase from last season, while WNBA League Pass saw a 10% bump in subscribers. W content is hitting on socials, too — it enjoyed an all-time high 186 million views across its platforms, up 36% from 2021.

• The W’s website also saw increased traffic. It had 9.2 million total visits, an improvement of 79% year-over-year (YoY), plus 5.4 million unique visits — nearly double the 2021 figure. The site also hit 23.8 million page views, an 83% increase from last season.

The comparison: The WNBA is keeping pace with the NHL and MLS, two leagues that boast similarly-sized TV audiences. The NHL averaged 460K viewers per game during the 2021–22 season, up 18% from the year before. MLS, meanwhile, averaged 285K viewers in 2021 for an 11% increase YoY.

Zooming out: This season of growth only bolsters the W’s case ahead of two massive opportunities to assign market value — expansion and a new media rights deal. The league is aiming to beat a reported $15–20 million entry fee for each new team, and eyeing a broadcast agreement worth $100 million annually. Shooting its shot.

• As mentioned in yesterday’s episode of The GIST of It, those valuations could change the women’s sports ecosystem. One league that could benefit? The NWSL, which will also negotiate an expansion fee and media rights deals soon.