Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese Help ESPN Score Record 2.4 Million Viewers for WNBA Draft

By R. Thomas Umstead
published

Women’s sports content maintains its momentum after record-setting March Madness title game

Caitlin Clark and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert at the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Caitlin Clark and WNBA commissioner Cathy Englebert on stage at the WNBA Draft in Brooklyn, N.Y. (Image credit: Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty Images)

A star-studded class of women’s college basketball players led by Caitlin Clark helped ESPN draw a record audience for Monday’s live WNBA Draft telecast.

The event averaged 2.4 million viewers, blowing away the 572,000 viewers for ESPN’s 2023 telecast and surpassing the former WNBA Draft record of 601,000 viewers set in 2004, according to Nielsen numbers published by Sports Media Watch. The draft featured Iowa Hawkeyes star Clark, whom the Indiana Fever selected with the first overall pick.

The draft also featured college hoops standouts Cameron Brink, selected by the Los Angeles Sparks at No. 2, Kamilla Cardoso, selected third by the Chicago Sky, and Angel Reese, selected seventh by the Sky.

The record WNBA draft numbers come on the heels of a record-setting 18.9 million viewers who tuned into the April 7 NCAA women’s college basketball title game, where the South Carolina Gamecocks defeated Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes.

R. Thomas Umstead
R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.