This is just a tiny glimpse of the data available to CivicScience clients. Discover more data.
Game-changing dynamics are reshaping women’s sports viewership. Fresh data from CivicScience reveals a significant surge in fan engagement—particularly among two surprising demographics. As 2025 kicks off, industry leaders and brands should note the dramatic shift as Gen Z and male viewers emerge as powerful drivers behind the growth of women’s athletics. The data signals a transformative moment for sports marketing, challenging traditional audience demographics and fan behavior assumptions.
1. Gen Z’s Interest in Women’s Sports Continues to Grow – Up 11 points since 2022.
CivicScience has tracked the growing interest in watching or attending women’s sports since 2022. The most recent data from January 2025 shows that 18-to-24-year-olds are even more interested in watching or attending women’s sporting events (52%) than those uninterested (48%).
In 2022, the percentage of Gen Z interested in women’s sporting events stood at 41%.

Join the conversation: How closely do you follow women’s sports?
2. Interest in the WNBA now surpasses that of the NCAA – probably because of Caitlin Clark.
At the start of 2024, the Gen Pop were more likely to show interest in the women’s NCAA (college basketball) over all other women’s sports asked about in the poll below. According to data from January 2025, the Gen Pop’s interest has flipped following Caitlin Clark’s rookie year with Indiana Fever, summed up by her selection as TIME Magazine’s Athlete of the Year 2024, with the WNBA now in the lead.

3. Men are increasingly paying attention to the WNBA.
A growing percentage of men are following the WNBA—a number that was reasonably consistent before 2021. Looking at the data of a question tracked by CivicScience for over a decade, the percentage of men who followed the WNBA at least ‘somewhat closely’ in 2024 (34%) grew 10 points from 2023’s average (24%).

Share your thoughts: What do you think about the future of women’s sports?
Women’s athletics is poised to grow in popularity, especially after a fascinating year across sports. Diverse consumers are clued in and excited. Businesses worldwide have recognized the changes and are taking shots where opportunities exist.