Derran Cobb is a third-year journalism student who writes for the Daily News. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper.
The WNBA playoffs began Wednesday night. You probably didn’t even know it.
During the 2023 WNBA regular season, there was a on average 505,000 viewersthe highest since 2002. The 2022 NBA regular season saw a average 1.59 million viewersin what was a slight drop from the previous season.
What was a great year for the WNBA is still far from a bad year for the NBA. Why is that?
It’s really simple. Commercialization.
The average comment on an X or Instagram post usually destroys the league, saying something sexist. They’re not real sports fans. A true basketball fan knows that women know how to play ball.
Sure, women’s basketball might not have many highlight plays outside of game-winners, while the men’s game, however, features high-flying dunks, crazy handles, power blocks, and more. These are the types of games you will see on social media. .
But that’s the problem.
You can follow NBA news and see highlights on a million different social media accounts without even needing to watch the games, but the only time you’ll see a WNBA highlight is when you will have to search for it on YouTube or on ESPN. .
Coverage of the WNBA on social media is usually a snippet of a play that would be considered “simple” in the NBA. These are the posts that drive engagement because they’re the easiest to joke about. Real highlights are only published on the official team page.
On top of that, people only like to talk about the WNBA when the topic of salaries comes up. However, the most common misconception is that the athletes themselves even asked for equal pay.
Breanna Stewart of the United States national team, left, is guarded by Candace Parker of the WNBA team during the WNBA All-Star Game at Michelob ULTRA Arena on July 14, 2021 in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images/TNS)
Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum says she and other players aren’t asking to be paid the same as NBA stars. They want the same share of revenue. Plum said her jersey was sold in stores, but she never saw a dime from it.
The NBA has a 50/50 income distribution between owners and players. In the WNBA, half of the shared revenue goes to the players, while the league keeps the other half. However, only 25 percent of the player’s half goes directly to the player’s remuneration.
The minimum salary in the NBA is $1.1 millionwhile the maximum salary in the WNBA is only $234,936. Worse still, players will only be able to negotiate a new collective agreement in 2025.
Fortunately, the WNBA is still a relatively young league, having had its first season only 27 years ago, in 1996. For reference, the NBA has been around since 1946.
As I mentioned earlier, this has been a great season for the WNBA. They reached an audience of 36 million unique viewers, recorded its highest viewership since 2010 and generated a record 373 million views on social media.
Of course, the play on the court has been fun this year, with five different records broken, including New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart recording six different 40-point games. Women’s college basketball has also seen an increase in viewership and engagement, thanks in part to big names like Iowa’s. Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese from Louisiana State.
This year’s playoffs should be one not to miss, with fans hoping for a superteam showdown between the No. 1 seed Las Vegas Aces (34-6) and the No. 2 seed New York Liberty ( 32-8) in the WNBA Finals.
As the game only gets better every year and viewership continues to grow, it’s time to push for better marketing. The league needs more TV deals, more social media highlights and more corporate sponsorships.
Contact Derran Cobb with comments at [email protected] or on @Derran_cobb.
