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BLOG — Dec 19, 2024
Viewership of women's sports in the US is on the rise
By Keith Nissen
Highlights
- Women’s sports — especially basketball and soccer — are growing in popularity in the US. Nearly one in five survey respondents reported following either NCAA women's basketball, the WNBA or FIFA women's soccer — an increase of 4 percentage points over six months.
- Viewership of women’s sports in the US is growing in popularity, reaching 18% in 2024 and rising by four percentage points from the third quarter of 2023, according to our US Consumer Insights surveys.
- Three-quarters of women’s sports fans are avid viewers of live sports, watching over six separate sports leagues, on average.
- Nearly two-thirds of those watching NCAA women’s college basketball and FIFA women’s soccer are men. Half of WNBA viewers are men.
- Half of NCAA women’s college basketball viewership are men 55 years of age and older, while one-third of WNBA and FIFA women’s soccer watchers are young adults under 35 years of age.
The S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan surveys from the third quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024 indicate a notable increase in the popularity of women’s sports in the United States. Specifically, the percentage of internet adults following NCAA women’s college basketball rose by 2 percentage points to 9% in 2024. Additionally, there was a rise in viewership for FIFA World Cup women’s soccer matches and WNBA professional basketball games over the past year. Although the growth rates for individual leagues fell within the survey's margin of error, the overall increase of 4 percentage points in women’s sports viewership is significant.
A key finding from the surveys is that a large majority of women’s sports fans are dedicated sports viewers. Approximately 73% of those who follow FIFA World Cup women’s soccer and WNBA basketball watch live sports at least once a week. Furthermore, 81% of internet adults following NCAA women’s college basketball are frequent live sports viewers. This indicates a strong engagement with sports among those who support women’s leagues.
The data also reveals that viewers of women’s sports tend to follow more sports leagues than the average American. On average, fans of US women’s sports follow over six other sports leagues, compared to an average of 2.5 leagues among the general population. Despite this, there are distinctions among the fan bases; for instance, NCAA women’s college basketball fans are more likely to also follow college football and men’s college basketball, while WNBA fans tend to follow NBA basketball. Additionally, around 70% of women’s sports viewers expressed an intention to watch the upcoming Summer Olympics.
Interestingly, there is a lack of overlap between fans of women’s college basketball and the WNBA. Only 40% of women’s college basketball fans also watch the WNBA, while 51% of WNBA viewers watch women’s college basketball. Moreover, only about 30% of women’s soccer fans engage with women’s basketball. The demographic breakdown shows that a significant portion of NCAA women’s college basketball (62%) and FIFA women’s soccer (61%) fans are men, while WNBA viewership is more balanced, with 52% women and 48% men.
Age distribution varies among the three leagues, with NCAA women’s college basketball having a higher proportion of older viewers—47% are aged 55 and older, and only 21% are under 35. In contrast, the WNBA attracts a younger audience, with 39% under 35. FIFA women’s soccer fans are more evenly distributed, with 30% being older adults and 35% under 35. Additionally, the racial demographics indicate that 68% of NCAA women’s basketball and 67% of FIFA women’s soccer viewers are white, while WNBA viewership is more diverse, with 46% white and 43% Black/African American viewers.
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