NHL possibly getting bumped for a WNBA game

[SillyRabbit]

They should air whatever will get them the most views.

If the NHL can't attract a significant audience, that's on the NHL.

Get better at marketing your product.

 

[red devil]

 

[MattMartin]

She's already doing SNL, the train has come and gone.

 

[Sykur]

As someone who knows who Caitlin Clark is, but doesn’t watch any women’s basketball, what is the big appeal with her?

Is she like a McDavid generational talent? Fair or not, looks matter for marketing female athletes and although I’m not insulting her looks, there are definitely prettier. Is she a big personality?

I’m interested to hear why she’s the women’s basketball player that people care about and not others before her.

She can dunk AND she has good fundamentals.

 

[Kimota]

WNBA has never been popular with empty arenas. It's more for Caithlin.

 

[Jeremy2020]

NHL fans think there’s some sort of prestige by being on ESPN and not ESPN2.

I'd rather be on espn8 personally

 

[ozzie]

I had to look up Caitlin Clark because I was curious and had no idea who she was. The first thing that popped up was "Gap between Caitlin Clark's WNBA salary and here male counterparts' draws outrage. Clark will pocket $338,056 over four years under her contract with the Indiana Fever. In contrast, last year's No. 1 NBA draft pick secured a $55 million four-year contract."

I really don't think the WNBA having the spotlight for a game on one network is hurting the NHL.

So many articles are jumping on the pay gap between male and female players. What they never mention is the CBA and revenue sharing of the NBA with the players and how much more the NBA makes. No doubt she is under paid for what she might bring to jerseys and extra tickets.

If the WNBA made more money, you would hope the salaries would go up and the players would share in it's success. I have no idea what their CBA deal is or if women get a cut of overal profits like NBA and NHL.

Bad media is just bad media.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

As someone who knows who Caitlin Clark is, but doesn’t watch any women’s basketball, what is the big appeal with her?

Is she like a McDavid generational talent? Fair or not, looks matter for marketing female athletes and although I’m not insulting her looks, there are definitely prettier. Is she a big personality?

I’m interested to hear why she’s the women’s basketball player that people care about and not others before her.

Pretty girls can definitely get a boost, but for the absolute elite it doesn't really matter. Serena Williams was 10x more popular than Sharapova for example.

 

[Il Stugotz]

Women’s bball is definitely having a moment, and it’s not just Caitlin Clark. The games are entertaining and there’s a lot more parity amongst the elite teams in college nowadays. 2025 college players Juju Watkins and Paige Bueckers could end up having better pro careers than Clark.

I could see myself tuning in for the WNBA playoffs this year, but I don’t think regular season basketball - men’s or women’s - has enough tension for me. (Even preseason hockey does it for me!)

 

[ACLEVERNAME]

'Viewership' numbers are always rigged - on all fronts. Some more egregious than others tho; depending. $$$

 

[sxvnert]

Just accept that women’s basketball is getting more popular. NCAA women’s final did 14 mil in viewers. The NHL could only dream of touching that.

......because of Caitlin Clark. Shes the only reason.

 

[Jussi]

Wait, she's playing like days after being drafted?

Like a week after the NCAA season ended?

What a weird scheudle. You don't see that in men's sports.

Because the WNBA season lasts from May to October. That's to accommodate those who play in European leagues in the winter. A lot of players do that because they make more money that way. WNBA salaries alone aren't high enough for most of these players. It can get taxing though, Dallas Wings Finnish player Awak Küier is taking a year off from WNBA because she also plays in Italy and hasn't had a proper off-season for three years.

 

[PaulD]

Just accept that women’s basketball is getting more popular. NCAA women’s final did 14 mil in viewers. The NHL could only dream of touching that.

and NCAA is far more popular than the women's "who cares" pro league.

 

[John Price]

put the NHL on ESPN 2 problem solved

hate to say it but they Clark game will bring eyeballs

 

[Jussi]

Does anybody know who is she outside NA, though?

Yes, plenty of stories in the Finnish medias about her final NCAA season and all the records she's broken, especially becoming the all time leading scorer, both men's and women's. Straight up phenom, shoots like Steph Curry, well beyond the arc and can also make spectacular passes.

 

[Jussi]

Female player who can hit 3's from anywhere, it's like watching Curry play. Dominated Div1 NCAA, tuned in last weekend for the NCAA finals, she was definitely living up to the hype.

14.2 million views for her finals game is insane, last years SCF was averaging 2.5M per game. She's going to singlehandedly carry the WNBA.

That was actually for the semifinal, final drew 18.7 million.

 

[Jussi]

'Viewership' numbers are always rigged - on all fronts. Some more egregious than others tho; depending. $$$

All numbers are rigged.

 

[nickp91]

2024 WNBA Draft drew nearly 2.5 million viewers in record-shattering broadcast Previous viewership record was set back in 2004 with Diana Taurasi

 

[GKJ]

Caitlin Clark's WNBA debut game throws ESPN's NHL Playoffs coverage into chaos


What a joke of a “ major “ league. This how mcdavid debut should’ve been treated . I don’t know how out of touch head in sand the nhl can be.

It’s exactly how Bedard’s debut was treated

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

They should air whatever will get them the most views.

If the NHL can't attract a significant audience, that's on the NHL.

Get better at marketing your product.

Agreed. The NHL's problem has not necessarily been a lack of interest because people don't like hockey but rather how horrendously poor their marketing of the game has been. Nevermind it's lack of accessibility at the youth level and the NHL not doing much to help alleviate that stress.

I'm not even a fan of the NBA but I always hear their draft days are like some major event. I imagine the WNBA is trying to put on a similar show--which is what it garnered so many viewers. Good on them to actually capitalize on a market instead of hoping one just appears.

 

[hoglund]

It may be depressing to all of us, but Caitlin Clark is a much bigger sports star than Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, or any other hockey player.

Many more Americans know who Caitlin Clark is.

I think that she was on SNL last Saturday. Do you think that WNBA players will make more than NHL players? Does the WNBA bring in more revenue than the NHL?

 

[BKarchitect]

Yeah, and if I ran a major network I’d bump the NHL for Caitlin Clark too, in a nanosecond.

She’s a phenom right now.

Pandering my ass. This is just smart. Scratch that…that’s giving ESPN too much credit…this is just common sense.

 

[SomeDude]

Superstars draw eyes. The NHL is dreadful promoting their superstars. It’s not very complex.

 

[Three On Zero]

Yeah, and if I ran a major network I’d bump the NHL for Caitlin Clark too, in a nanosecond.

She’s a phenom right now.

Pandering my ass. This is just smart. Scratch that…that’s giving ESPN too much credit…this is just common sense.

It’s really a no brainer, you take Clark over a NHL game in a heart beat. People need to realize that the NHL just isn’t a large selling point for the majority of the US

 

[BKarchitect]

I’ll definitely be tuning in to see her debut. Doesn’t mean I’m going to suddenly start watching the WNBA over the NHL of course…I’ve watched maybe ten minutes of the WNBA in my life. But I’d did watch some of the WNBA draft and it was actually kind of fun. I think a girl dad anywhere would appreciate seeing these awesome athletes and young women get a chance to be on a national platform, in their fits, being swaggy…it’s really cool.

Be it the WNBA, F1, MMA or whatever - it’s kind of fun learning about a new sport or league and developing favorites. That definitely appeals to the sports fanatic in me.

And Clark definitely has that must watch factor right now. She’s talented, has swagger and is brash. Those Big Ten games in Iowa City were bonkers in terms of atmosphere. And she will only have one professional debut ever - is she gonna deliver or find out this ain’t college anymore?

Sign me up and if my NHL team is involved in a playoff game at the same time I’ll find a way in 2024 to keep an eye on two things at once, amazing at that may sound.