The NCAA Women's March Madness is set to be one of the biggest in history of the sport.
The 2023 NCAA Championship game between Iowa and LSU was by far the most-watched game on record — garnering an average viewership of nearly 10 million — and this has parlayed into strong viewership numbers throughout the 2024 regular season.
It's no secret that Caitlin Clark is a major reason for the rise — though experts and data does show that teams like University of South Carolina and LSU are also driving viewership.
But while the first round of March Madness is only tipping off tonight, a new report makes it seem like Clark's positive effect on women's sports is already spewing to the professional level.
According to Front Office Sports, the WNBA is exploring separating from the NBA for its next media rights deal. The premiere women's professional basketball league is tied with the NBA in negotiating for a media rights deal with Disney (DIS) for ESPN and ABC starting the 2025 — but the WNBA views itself as "undervalued" per the report by FOS.
Related: Women's basketball is gaining ground, but is March Madness ready to rival the men's game?
The WNBA reportedly feels that its value is rising due to Clark's impending arrival into the league. Clark announced in February that she will forego her final year of eligibility in the NCAA and join the 2024 WNBA Draft, which takes place on April 15. That's just over a week from the 2024 NCAA Championship game.
The WNBA's current deal is worth about $60 million annually from its deals with Disney, Prime Video, CBS, and Ion. There's a belief that the league can raise that to close to $100 million for this deal.
In a response to the report, a spokesperson for the WNBA told TheStreet in a statement:
“The NBA and WNBA are approaching the marketplace jointly but remain open to all options.”
Related: The amount of money Americans are betting on March Madness is getting ridiculous
The growth of women's basketball in media rights deal has already been seen in the college level as in January, the NCAA and ESPN agreed on a deal that valued that NCAA Women's Basketball March Madness tournament at $65 million. That is about 10 times more than the previous deal.
While the WNBA has seen its viewership numbers grow in recent year, it has not yet felt the viewership increases that the NCAA Women's March Madness has felt. The pro league's Finals games still unable to crack the 1 million viewership mark last season while several regular season NCAA Women's Basketball games saw over two million viewers this season.
However, Clark's presence starting next year could certainly change things for the WNBA. Tickets to games of the Indiana Fever — the team that holds the top pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft — have already skyrocketed.
And Sports Media Watch's Jon Lewis told TheStreet that no one in the entire world of sports is "moving the needle" quite like Clark.
The get-in price for the first Indiana Fever game in Chicago on June 23 are at $160, before taxes and fees.
— Colin Salao (@colincsalao) March 5, 2024
For perspective, the get-in tickets for the next home game on June 27 against the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces are at $25.
The Caitlin Clark effect. https://t.co/ybAnrdSCbn pic.twitter.com/awYPS7WN5s
And Sports Media Watch's Jon Lewis told TheStreet that no one in the entire world of sports is "moving the needle" quite like Clark.
There is still no definitive proof that Clark's buzz will translate to the professional level — and the WNBA will have to wait until mid-May to see its first taste of Clark's effect on the league — but it seems as though they will use her potential as a massive selling point in a deal that could spell tens or hundreds of millions for the growing league.
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