KEY POINTS:
· The Indiana Fever are preparing to start the second part of the WNBA season following the WNBA All-Star and Olympic break and so far, this year’s team has raised the bar for fan engagement across the League.
· The Fever lead the League in attendance for both home and away games with more than 186,000 fans attending a Fever home game since the season tipped off in May, the highest total in franchise history and a 265% increase in attendance from last season.
· Four Fever home games this season have set single-game records for sales at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse Team Store, and the Team Store has experienced a jump of more than 1,000% in net sales.
· The Fever hold the top spots in the League in social media engagement, video views, followers gained, and total followers and since April, the Fever have had more than 800M video views across platforms. The team is ranked first among teams in the WNBA, NBA, NFL, NHL, or MLB in video consumption in that span.
· The Fever lead the WNBA with 38 national TV games and 10 of the Fever game broadcasts so far this season have set network viewership records for WNBA games on ESPN, ION, CBS, and NBA TV, including most the viewed WNBA game in 23 years.
INDIANAPOLIS – Women’s basketball has exploded in popularity and more fans are tuning in, packing arenas, and engaging in social media to watch their favorite teams and players. Indiana in particular has been the epicenter of the sport with fans engaging with the Fever and their young stars in new ways, and the momentum shows no signs of slowing down as the team makes a push to return to the WNBA playoffs this season.
The results have been impressive across the organization, but they are perhaps more glaring with the excitement and energy of the game experience at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Fever lead the League in attendance, eight of the team’s 11 home games this season have been sellouts, and the team maximized its season ticket sales for the 2024 season. In all, more than 186,000 fans have attended a home game so far in 2024, the most in franchise history and already a 265% jump from last season. The enthusiasm has carried over to road games, as well, with more than 230,000 fans attending Fever games in opposing arenas and multiple road games moving to larger venues to accommodate the big crowds.
“This is a historic moment, an inflection point for women’s basketball, and there’s nothing more fitting than Indiana being at the center of it all,” said Mel Raines, Chief Executive Officer of Pacers Sports & Entertainment. “Over several seasons, we have built a young, talented roster that fans are excited to support, and this is momentum that we will build off for years to come.”
Fans in the arenas are not the only ones excited to catch Fever games, however. In April, the WNBA announced the Fever would lead the League with 38 games on national TV, and the team also has partnered with TEGNA to broadcast games in central Indiana and across the Midwest. The response from fans has been tremendous. Viewership for the Fever’s regular season opener in Connecticut, for example, peaked at 2.3 million people across ESPN 2, ESPN+, and Disney+ platforms, making it the most-viewed WNBA game at the time on ESPN platforms. The team’s June 23 game in Chicago set the record for the most viewed WNBA game in 23 years averaging 2.3 million viewers and peaking at 3.3 million viewers.
Fans are also engaging on social and digital media unlike ever before. Interaction on Fever digital platforms have skyrocketed this season, with fans loving the exciting and creative content the team has produced. The Fever have enjoyed the most engagement, video views, and social media followers of any team in the WNBA, and from April 15 through July 19, videos produced by the team had more than 800M views, trailing only Miami FC across major U.S. sports franchises during that period. Fever social media platforms added more than 1.3M followers since mid-April, as well, and lead the WNBA in that category.
“This is a fun team, on and off the court, and our staff has done an exceptional job at creating content that connects our growing fan base in new and innovative ways,” said Todd Taylor, Pacers Sports & Entertainment President for Business Operations. “This is an important moment for our sport and our city and state, and it is exciting to be able to share it with our fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and all over the world.”
Unsurprisingly, fans have also flocked to the Gainbridge Fieldhouse Team Store in record numbers, and thus far in 2024, four Fever home games have set the single-game Team Store record at the venue. This has resulted in a 694% increase, year over year, in total items sold and growth of more than 1,000% in net sales at the Team Store and a similar jump in jersey sales.
Finally, the excitement translated to increased engagement on the part of the Fever’s corporate partners, as well. So far in 2024, the team has experienced a 225% increase in overall corporate partners and lead the WNBA in that category.
The Fever are currently competing to return to the WNBA Playoffs after several historic draft classes have resulted in a roster full of up-and-coming stars. The team has a winning record at home and has turned things around following an early season stretch of difficult games against some of the WNBA’s top teams, including a west coast trip. The Fever return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to begin the second half of the season on Friday, Aug.16, at 7:30 p.m. against the Phoenix Mercury.
Click here for an infographic and see below for short video detailing increases in Fever fan engagement this season.
Additional highlights this season include:
Attendance
· The Fever lead the League in attendance for both home and away games.
Viewership
· Ten of the Fever game broadcasts so far this season have set network viewership records for WNBA games on ESPN, ION, CBS and NBA TV.
· Locally on WTHR, Fever games are #1 in their time slot and averaging almost double-digit ratings.
· Indiana’s road game in New York on May 18 was the most-viewed WNBA game ever on ABC at 1.71 million viewers. Viewership for the game peaked at 1.96 million viewers.
· Indiana’s road game in Atlanta on June 21 was the most-viewed WNBA game ever on ION at nearly 1.2 million viewers.
· On May 25, Indiana’s road game in Las Vegas was the most-viewed WNBA game ever on NBA TV, averaging 333,000 viewers.
· Viewership for the regular season opener peaked at 2.3 million people across ESPN 2, ESPN+, and Disney+ platforms.
Merchandise & In-Arena Sales
· Transactions in the Team Store are up over 700% compared to this time last year.
· The Fieldhouse concessions are also seeing increased popularity as over 300% more hot dogs and 98 more pounds of popcorn have been sold this season compared to this time last year.
Social Media
· All aspects of Fever social media and digital presence increased with engagement up over 800%, video views up over 1300%, and total followers up over 260%.
· Since April, the Fever has had over 800M video views on social media ranking them number one over any team in the WNBA, NBA, NFL, NHL, or MLB.
Freddy Fever
· Fever mascot Freddy Fever is seeing a 150% increase in appearance requests.
