From a business standpoint, the WNBA has just wrapped up its most successful season in league history, largely due to the arrival of star newcomers Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese - but some changes are on the way .
League commissioner Cathy Engelbert is steering the WNBA towards converting this popularity into increased revenue. The league recently brokered a new $2.2 billion ($200 million per year) media rights agreement with Disney, Amazon, and NBC.
At a press conference on Thursday evening, the commissioner also unveiled three scheduling alterations that will be implemented as early as 2025.
CHANGE ONE: The WNBA will extend its regular season from 40 to a record-breaking 44 games in 2025. Engelbert elaborated on why 2025 was the ideal time for such an expansion, as the league won't have to accommodate an Olympic or FIBA World Cup break in the summer.
Regular season viewership figures saw a significant increase in 2024. According to Richard Deitsch of the Athletic, nationally televised games averaged $1.2 million viewers -- a substantial rise from 440,00 in 2023.
CHANGE TWO: The WNBA Finals will transition from a best-of-five format to a best-of-seven, aligning with other professional American sports and Game 1 of this year's championship series demonstrated why this change had been long overdue.
The Minnesota Lynx clinched the first game of the 2024 finals with a thrilling comeback victory over the New York Liberty on Thursday. Star forward Napheesa Collier sealed the 95-93 victory with a decisive step-back jumper with less than 10 seconds left in overtime.
Collier, with 21 points, was one of three Lynx players to score over 20 points, joined by Courtney Williams (23) and Kayla McBride (22). The Liberty are set to host the second game at the Barclays Center this Sunday.
CHANGE THREE: The WNBA Playoffs' first round will transition to a 1-1-1 format. In recent years, the higher seed has hosted all three games.
The league's switch to chartered flights from commercial flying will make such a change possible.
Clark and the sixth-seeded Indiana Fever were eliminated by the Connecticut Sun in back-to-back road losses. Game 2 became the most-watched WNBA playoff game since 1999, attracting 2.5 million viewers.
The WNBA Conference Finals -- featuring the Liberty, Lynx, Sun, and the Las Vegas Aces -- averaged 850,000 viewers per match.
Engelbert expressed optimism during her press conference. "It's a constant balancing of the schedule," she stated.
"The league's growth and increased demand for WNBA basketball made this the ideal time to expand the schedule, lengthen the Finals, and provide fans more opportunities to see the best players in the world compete at the highest level."
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