SportsPro presents all the key off-court details for the planet’s preeminent women’s basketball competition and its 12 franchises.
Founded in 1996, the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) began its 27th season in 2023 on a strong footing, but with plenty of room for improvement as it looks to cement its position as the world’s leading domestic basketball competition for women.
In tandem with two of its biggest partners, ESPN and Google, the league has been pushing hard in recent years for greater visibility. That ongoing drive has led to increased coverage this year, with ESPN set to show up to 52 live games and an expanded slate of programming over the course of the regular season and playoffs, while Google is taking steps to boost discoverability of women’s basketball content. In 2023, too, the WNBA All-Star Game will air on ABC in primetime for the first time.
Running from May until September, the 2023 regular season will include a record-high 40 games per team, marking the league’s longest ever season as it looks to capitalise on its growing popularity. The move follows the league’s most-watched playoffs in 20 years, averaging 439,000 viewers across 19 games, and a 16 per cent year-over-year (YoY) viewership increase during the 2022 regular season.
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