The WNBA set another viewership record with the 2024 All-Star Game last Saturday.

Sports Media Watch's Jon Lewis reported Team WNBA's 117-109 win over Team WNBA averaged 3.44 million viewers, which is more than double the previous high (1.44 million). It's also the best rating for any WNBA game since the 1997 season, per Lewis.

This part of a wider trend for the league, which said in June the 2024 season was on pace to be the most-watched ever across its media rights partners. The average from ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and CBS broadcasts was 1.32 million viewers to that point, a significant jump from 462,000 in 2023.

Part of the surge is down to rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, both of whom competed in the All-Star Game for Team WNBA. The massive followings they built in college have carried over to their pro careers, so having them line up on the same squad was bound to boost the ratings.

Clark played 26 minutes, finishing with four points, 10 assists and two steals. Reese came off the bench and had 12 points, 11 rebounds and one assist in 18 minutes.

Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale wound up stealing the show, pouring in an All-Star record 34 points.

Rather than negotiating separately with interested parties, the WNBA was packaged together with the NBA in a broad media rights deal worth a reported $76 billion over 11 years. Of that total, $2.2 billion is earmarked for the WNBA.

Terri Jackson, executive director for the WNBA players' union, wasted no time in raising questions over how the NBA came to that financial determination. Paying around $200 million a year to broadcast WNBA games could prove to be a bargain in a few years if the league's viewership continues to climb.