Increased attendance and TV viewership mark WNBA’s 15th season

Attendance at WNBA games increased for the fifth consecutive year, up 1.25 percent, the league reported Wednesday. The teams that drove the attendance increase included the Chicago Sky (+29.0%), Washington Mystics (+11.7%) and Minnesota Lynx (+10.8%).

TV viewership also increased on ESPN2 reaching its highest level since 2005, averaging 270,000 viewers, up five percent over last season (258,000).

Other attendance, viewership and fan engagement highlights of 2011:

• Viewership for the WNBA All-Star Game on ABC was up 46% vs. the last All-Star on ABC in 2009.
• U.S. ratings for the first round of the 2011 WNBA Draft on ESPN was up 47% vs. the first round of 2010 Draft on ESPN2.
• WNBA.com saw continued growth on the site during the 2011 season with daily unique visits up 13% and overall visits up 11%.
• WNBA games streamed online at WNBA.com via LiveAccess saw a 55% increase in unique users.
• The WNBA YouTube channel experienced a 35% increase in video views this season.
• The WNBA Facebook page saw an 11% increase in fans.
• League merchandise sales on WNBAStore.com increased 12% over last year.

The 2011 WNBA Playoffs begin Thursday, Sept. 15, with all 23 possible postseason games available on ESPN2 and NBA TV.