WNBA All-Star Game viewership validates complaints over pending media rights deal

The WNBA struck gold with its 2024 All-Star Game, giving credence to the idea it's undervalued in its pending media rights deal.

Per The Athletic's Richard Dietsch , 3.44 million viewers watched this year's game, roughly two million more than the 2003 ASG, the previous record-holder. A record audience got a firsthand look at the depth of the league's talent.

Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky rookie forward Angel Reese drew most of the headlines entering the game, but Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale stole the show with a record 34 points in the second half to give Team WNBA a 117-109 win over Team USA.

She wasn't the only Team WNBA player to shine in front of a huge audience.

Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray, who became the first player to win the Skills Competition and Three-Point Shooting Contest in the same year the previous evening, had 16 points, a game-high five steals, three assists and three rebounds. Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike and Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell combined to shoot 13-of-17 from the floor and score 27 points.

Clark and Reese also made history, with Clark becoming the first rookie to have 10 assists and Reese the first with a double-double in an ASG. They helped set a new baseline expectation for future All-Star Games, which should only grow in popularity.

The numbers fuel the argument that the league's projected next media rights deal is selling its product short. Last week, the league announced an estimated $2.2 billion media rights deal over 11 years, an average of $200 million annually.

The NBA, which owns a majority share of the W, has led negotiations, and some have argued its dollar figure for the WNBA is too low.

Team WNBA head coach and basketball legend Cheryl Miller said, "That's a lowball," according to Forbes . In a Substack article, sports business insider Joe Pompliano wrote that the deal is "too cheap and too long," noting the annual value places it "well below the NHL" and in the same ballpark as the MLS, which has an exclusive deal with Apple.

The league has plans to add four franchises by 2028 and increase the number of regular-season games per team from 40 to 44. In the coming years, talented collegiate players, including UConn's Paige Bueckers and USC's JuJu Watkins, should also be in the league.

The 2024 All-Star Game viewership data shows the sport's incredible growth, which the incoming money from the projected media rights deal doesn't accurately reflect.