The Caitlin Clark Effect Heads To The WNBA
Issue #149 - After dominating college basketball, the WNBA and its media rights holders are also anticipating large numbers in the pro game.
The Caitlin Clark Effect Heads To The WNBA
She became the face of women’s basketball, and her dominance was impactful enough to even overshadow the NCAA Men’s Tournament this year. In essence, Caitlin Clark was the face of this year’s March Madness, and now she is taking her talents over to the WNBA, which is hoping for the same crossover effect on the court and on TV.
Clark has been a ratings diamond for TV networks, and ESPN and ABC saw huge numbers during her final run as a college basketball player. An average of 18.9 million viewers watched the final, featuring South Carolina defeating Iowa 87-75, making it the most-viewed college basketball game ever on ESPN. It also trounced the men’s game.
According to ESPN, the final was the most-watched non-football or Olympics sporting event (men’s or women’s, college or pro) since 2019.
Clark made that happen.
ESPN also saw boffo ratings for the 2024 WNBA Draft as an average of 2.4 million viewers watched Clark and a lineup featuring Angel Reese and Cameron Brink get called up as they now head to the pros.
With the 2024 WNBA season set to begin on May 14 and Clark heading to the Indiana Fever, the league intends to milk every opportunity to showcase her. The Fever is set to play 36 out of 40 regular games on national TV.
Clark has made the WNBA a hot commodity, so hot that a media rights bidding war may emerge after the 2025 season. Additional interest may come from Warner Bros. Discovery's TNT Sports, which already has the rights to broadcast the games in the U.K. and Ireland.
What we are seeing with Clark is not an acknowledgement that women’s sports can be a media draw, as there have been other figures to bring in viewership in other sports, for example, Serena Williams, Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky, and the U.S. Women’s national soccer team.
With Clark, just like Michael Jordan and the NBA, the WNBA could be headed for its breakout moment in its 28th year. The league, which has been fighting for media attention and legitimacy, now finds itself in the perfect position to dictate what it wants and how it wants.
On the other hand, the hope is that Clark has left women’s college basketball in a much better place to proceed despite her absence. Granted, the viewership numbers for next year will not be as high as this year's, but media rights holders, including ESPN, Fox Sports, and Peacock, should take advantage of the newfound interest in the game and attach a brighter spotlight, enabling the next Caitlin Clark to shine on an even much bigger platform.
(The Athletic)
RECAP
Mark Thompson’s CNN Digital Revolution
After a recent visit to CNN's new offices at the Turner Techwood Campus in Atlanta, it’s easy to decipher that many CNNers enjoy and are passionate about their work at the original news network. The worker bees are keen to keep the network humming. At the same time, its chief executive, Mark Thompson, tries to craft a new strategy for the beleaguered news network, which has slipped to third place among the big three news networks in the ratings in total viewers and the adults 25-54 demo. In a recent interview with The Financial Times, Thompson, who has been the chairman and CEO of CNN for six months, sees the network’s future as one with a heavy investment in its digital offerings. Thompson is reshaping CNN in such a way that its most important revenue commodity is the news and not its delivery method, which is the affiliate fees it earns for its linear channels. To achieve this new goal, Thompson is looking at various revenue-generating options for some of its digital products, including audience registration, so that the information can be sold to advertisers and through direct-to-consumer subscriptions. “We have 160mn people coming to us every month on CNN.com. And some tens of millions more off-platform. So it’s a very substantial group of people. There’s a large number of things we could do,” he said, acknowledging the opportunities “generative AI” could also bring. With Alex MacCallum back in the fold to lead CNN Digital, the network needs to start executing its digital strategy, considering this year has so far been news-intense, and as the presidential election gets closer, interest in the news will only continue to grow. (The Financial Times)
NBC Sports Plans A Different Approach For The Paris Olympics
As the summer Olympics inch ever so closer, NBC Sports is laying out how it will cover the upcoming games from Paris, which, as a location known for its charm, romance, and architecture, may make the games even more compelling for American viewers. In this attention-deficit age, NBC Sports is choosing to cover the games differently than past games as it is deploying a team of marquee names from the sports and entertainment arenas to Paris to help with its coverage, including Peyton Manning, Snoop Dogg, Kelly Clarkson, Alex Cooper, and Jimmy Fallon. The most significant change will be on the linear channel NBC, which, during previous Olympics, would present primetime taped delay sports that appealed to American audiences. This year, during primetime, NBC will offer a program that resembles a variety show. It will combine highlights alongside entertainment and pop-culture stars like Snoop Dogg, offering commentary on the featured sports being shown that evening. This strategy hopes to bring in more sports fans as well as channel surfers. NBC Sports will be using Mike Tirico, its big-name sportscaster, as the host of the primetime program and will also use his talents for the opening and closing ceremonies. Manning and Clarkston will join him in the booth for the opening ceremony and Fallon will be on hand for the closing ceremony. For fans solely interested in the actual sports, NBC Sports will use its Peacock streaming service to show all the events live. In other news, fresh off the success of calling the Super Bowl on Nickelodeon, Noah Eagle has been tapped as the primary play-by-play announcer for Team USA's men’s and women’s basketball. Using the youthful Eagle, NBC Sports hopes to lure in an even younger audience to its broadcasts, further emphasizing a fresh approach in how it’s approaching the Olympics. (Variety, NBC Sports Group Press Box)
QUICK RECAP
In Memoriam: Former ESPN researcher and producer Howie Schwab passes away at 63. (ESPN PR/X)
Earth Week: How ABC News plans to tackle Earth Week. (TVNewser)
Movie: How TV journalists reacted to the movie Civil War. (TVNewser)
Anniversary: CNBC celebrates its 35th anniversary. (Talking Biz News)
Global: BBC News’ Persian journalists subjected to national security and counterterrorism laws abuse seeking an urgent appeal from UN. (BBC Media Centre)
Out: Dr. Jennifer Ashton to depart from ABC News in June. (TVNewser)
In: Warner Bros. Discovery names David Porter, head of ad sales research. (Variety)
In: Ari Chambers joins ESPN's Andscape as a commentator and sports culture talent for Black Content Studio. (ESPN Press Room)
Business: Warner Bros. Discovery's David Zaslav received a 27% raise, earning $49.7 million in 2023. (Broadcasting+Cable)
Business: CBS News and CBS Sports’ parent company, Paramount Global, receives a new joint offer from Apollo and Sony. (New York Times)
2024 NFL Draft: NFL Network shares its draft week coverage plans. (NFL Communications)
2024 NFL Draft: ESPN shares its draft week coverage plans. (ESPN Press Room)
Legal: BBC News female news presenters take legal action over lack of on-air work. (Deadline)
Legal: Smartmatic and OAN settle their lawsuit. (TVNewser)
Digital: Former ABC News chief Ben Sherwood is now the CEO of The Daily Beast. (New York Times)
Digital: Former MSNBC host Mehdi Hassan launches his digital media company Zeteo and announces contributors. (The Wrap)
Trump Trial: How the news networks covered jury selection of the upcoming trial. (TVNewser)
Trump Trial: Cable News quickly moves to cover a man setting himself on fire. (TVNewser)
Programming: King Charles ends its limited run on CNN. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Programming: CNN FlashDocs on Beyoncé to debut on the Max streaming service. (Warner Bros. Discovery Press)
Awards: CBS News wins two Gold Awards at the 2024 New York Festival Radio Awards. (CBS News PR/X)
Awards: ABC News, CBS News, and PBS were 2024 Writers Guild Awards winners. (Writers Guild Awards)
Awards: CNN's Christiane Amanpour receives the first Polk Laureate at the 75th George Polk Awards. (TVNewser)
Ratings: ESPN's Eastern Conference NBA Play-Tournament coverage was its most-watched ever. (Ben Canard/X)
Ratings: CBS Mornings defeated Good Morning America twice in the Adults 25-54 demo this past week. (CBS News PR/X)
Ratings: CBS Sports had its least-watched final round of the Masters since 2021, with an average of 9.6 million viewers. (Austin Karp/X)
Sports: ESPN's Scott Van Pelt is moving his SVPod podcast to Omaha Audio Network. (Front Office Sports)
Sports: 30 for 30 on legendary SportsCenter anchor Stuart Scott coming soon from ESPN Films. (ESPN Press Room)
Sports: Why did ESPN delay covering the Jontay Porter NBA lifetime ban? (Awful Announcing)
Sports: Congress wants more details on the joint streaming venture from ESPN, Fox Sports and TNT Sports. (Front Office Sports)
Sports: Famed soccer announcer Martin Tyler nearly lost his voice for good. (Awful Announcing)
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A MarkHenry Media LLC publication - Issue #149 - 2024