S11E5: WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert on Talent, Activism, and the Business of Basketball

The WNBA is both the moment and a movement.  Approximately 400,000 fans attended WNBA games during the first month of the 2024 season, the highest first month attendance in 26 years. An average of 1.32 million viewers are tuning into each game. A historic rookie class that includes Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark are bringing new eyeballs to a game that has some of the most dedicated fan bases in professional sports. The league also saw a 200% increase in revenue in 2023 from the year prior and they are currently negotiating a TV deal independently of the NBA for the very first time.  

And don’t forget the women of this league are staunch social activists who helped flip a U.S. Senate seat in 2021.

In this episode of DB|BD, hosts Ellen McGirt and Jessica Helfand sit down with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert. Engelbert stepped in as the league’s very first commissioner in 2019 after spending 33 years at Deloitte. Engelbert shares how she transformed an almost non-existent marketing department to revive the 30 year old league, what the league is doing to support player wellness and why she considers the WNBA a “growth stock.”

Later in the episode we will hear from Lindsay Gibbs a sports reporter and author of the feminist sports newsletter Power Plays. Gibbs explains how this moment in the W fits into three decades of league history, why the long running record of WNBA player activism can’t be ignored and what mainstream sports media is getting wrong in their coverage of the league.

On this season of DB|BD, co-hosts Jessica Helfand and Ellen McGirt are observing equity by highlighting the “redesigners” — people who are addressing urgent problems by challenging big assumptions about how the world can and should work — and who it should work for. 

This season of DB|BD is powered by Deloitte. 

Visit our site for more on this episode and to view a transcript.

To check out the WNBA’s upcoming schedule and how to watch,  visit their website. 

To read more of Lindsay Gibbs’ reporting, including her piece on Candace Parker’s rookie season, and listen to her podcast, visit her website. 

Watch Bruhat Soma win the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Read more about the integration of Negro League baseball stats into the MLB records.

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Episodes are produced by Design Observer’s editorial team. The views and opinions expressed by podcast speakers and guests are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions of Deloitte or its personnel, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse any individuals or entities featured on the episodes.