The WNBA's Struggles Even w/the Record-Setting 2024 Season

[Webster]

The WNBA, led by its rookie star players, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, has experienced a record-breaking year in most categories including in attendance, viewership and merchandise sales. Three new expansion teams - San Fransisco, Toronto and Portland, and a $2.2 billion 11-year media rights deal with Disney, Amazon Prime and NBC are expected to flush the league with cash in the coming years. Yet, player salaries are low in comparison to the NBA and other sports leagues while the league struggles to become profitable. CNBC’s Tala Hadavi digs into the WNBA’s business model and explores why it may take years before the longest-running women’s sport league becomes profitable.

Chapters
03:18 Chapter 1: Playing in the WNBA
06:15 Chapter 2: An unusual business model
10:13 Chapter 3: Growth mode
12:24 Chapter 4: Collective bargaining agreement
14:45 Chapter 5: Revenue sharing

 

[PGen98]

Women's sports continues to struggle, it's such a shame, but hopefully one day at least one league will thrive and grow. The WNBA stands a good chance with Caitlin Clark's popularity.

 

[DrLeftover]

This was the story about the NBA a couple of years ago:

• The revenue of 30 NBA teams in 2021 stands at $6.41 billion.
• This is a 19% decrease from 2020, and the second year in a row with a decrease in revenue, after dropping by 10% in 2020.

NBA revenue statistics (2001-2022)

NBA has become the fastest-growing sport in North America over the last few

runrepeat.com

It may be a long time before the WNBA makes money