The WNBA will look to continue its momentum in 2024 with another record-high number of games and changes to its own in-season tournament after the league saw its best viewership in 21 years this past season.
The 2024 WNBA schedule, unveiled on Monday, will begin on May 14 and see each of the league’s 12 teams play 40 regular-season games, the same number as in 2023.
A broadcast schedule will be released at a future date, but in 2023, combined viewership for the WNBA across Disney networks (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2) and CBS was up 21% compared to the prior season. Games were also shown on Amazon Prime Video and Ion. Altogether the WNBA is believed to be bringing in more than $40 million per year through its current deals.
The regular season will include a break for the Paris Olympics, from July 21 through Aug. 14, before picking back up and then concluding on Sept. 19. The playoffs will follow, but those dates have not been set.
And after the success of the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament, the WNBA will modify its own in-season competition, condensing its Commissioner’s Cup games to a two-week period in June that will bring five matchups for each team.
Since its debut in 2021, the Commissioner’s Cup simply designated a portion of regular-season conference games in the first half of the season. The team from each conference with the top record in Commissioner’s Cup games will compete for a $500,000 prize pool in the Cup championship on June 25.
