By: Xixi Zhu

The WNBA All-Star game on Saturday drew in 3.44 million viewers on ABC. In 2003, 1.441 million viewers tuned into ABC to see that same game. 2024 beat that record.

What separated this game from the others was that many of the players were all-time greats. Lisa Leslie, Sue Bird, Dawn Staley, Sheryl Swoopes, and Cynthia Cooper all played in this round.

Sports Media Watch states that the 2024 All Star Game audience number tracks as the most-watched WNBA event on any ESPN network, and the third-most watched WNBA game of all-time. This is the 17th time this year that more than 1 million viewers have gathered to see the show.

Caitlin Clark, the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer and a two-time national player of the year with the Hawkeyes, played in 15 out of those 17 games. She is an influencer, and all her teammates on the Indiana Fever team, along with the public, have experienced what is dubbed the “Caitlin Clark Effect.”

Another famous player, Angel Reese, one of the highest-earning college athletes, has also given her team, the Chicago Sky, a lot of support. Both famous athletes attracted more than 2 million spectators, allowing this year’s viewers triple the amount from last year.

Saturday’s game is the most watched WNBA All-Star Game since 2007. The number of spectators this year broke records and shocked the media. Players were astonished to hear the news, especially since it had been so long since there were games that had that many viewers.

“Yeah, I think it’s just the people that we’ve brought together, the joy we’ve brought to people, the way people are recognizing women’s basketball as a sport. It’s fun to watch. Everybody loves it. It can be on the highest of stages. I think you see that with the viewership numbers,” Caitlin Clark once said.
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Image Credit by Joel De Leon