What NBA Players REALLY Think of Caitlin Clark!

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SBJ Unpacks: What do fans really think about Caitlin Clark?

Tonight in Unpacks: Caitlin Clark’s power to draw big TV numbers has certainly been confirmed, but how do fans feel about the Indiana Fever’s rookie sensation? SBJ’s Austin Karp analyzes a study from the National Research Group that measures how respondents view the WNBA’s most-talked about player.

Also tonight:

Which is the bigger event — MLB’s All-Star Game, or the Home Run Derby?
ESPN enhances Home Run Derby coverage with 4D Replay
NFL begins work to overturn ‘Sunday Ticket’ verdict
NHL inks global licensing deal with New Era

Listen to SBJ’s most popular podcast, Morning Buzzcast, where Abe Madkour discusses the kickoff of college conference media days, a potential new soccer-specific home for the New England Revolution, Wimbledon’s weather woes and more.

NRG study: Sports fans’ impressions of Caitlin Clark on par with Jokic, LeBron, Tatum

The TV power of Caitlin Clark is already well-documented. Multiple viewership records during the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament translated to her WNBA rookie campaign in spades. The league has seen 11 games this season top 1 million viewers, and Clark’s Indiana Fever squad has played in 10 of them (it had been 16 seasons since the WNBA had topped 1 million viewers for a game coming into 2024).

But what about sports fans’ attitudes toward Clark? A new study from National Research Group (NRG), analyzed by SBJ’s Austin Karp, looks to dig deeper into the “Caitlin Clark” effect among sports fans. The NRG study was conducted from June 7-10 among 1,074 self-identified U.S. sports fans (4 or greater on a scale of 0-10) among the age range of 18-64.

Here are some key data points among sports that stood out:

64% have heard of Clark (compared to 46% for the Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese, who ranked No. 2 among WNBA players). But just 26% of fans said they knew “a lot” about Clark.

34% could identify the WNBA team Clark plays for.

66% have an overall positive impression of Clark (just 4% negative). That is better than NBA players such as Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Jayson Tatum and Kevin Durant (she’s tied with Nikola Jokic, and just below Steph Curry and Luka Doncic).

72% who follow Clark say that they sympathize with her because of the press attention she’s received (60% say the media treats her unfairly). Another 41% have seen coverage of Clark’s rivalry with Reese, or stories about jealousy toward her from other WNBA players.

31% say they watch the WNBA on at least an occasional basis, with 7% saying “often.”

13% say they’ve watched more WNBA this year than they normally do, with 81% of those fans saying Clark is the one of the main reasons.

87% expect Clark’s presence in the WNBA will inspire more girls to take an interest in basketball.

59% of Black fans watch the WNBA on at least an occasional basis, compared to just 26% of white fans. Some 38% of Black fans agree that Clark is unfairly drawing media attention away from Black players. Among white fans, 70% have a positive opinion of Clark, while 52% of Black fans have either a neutral or negative attitude toward her. Twenty percent of those planning to watch the Paris Olympics said that Clark’s absence would make them less interested in watching women’s basketball.

The rivalry between Caitlin Clark (r) and Angel Reese is drawing attention to the WNBA

Which is the bigger event — MLB’s All-Star Game, or the Home Run Derby?

MLB has two tentpole events during All-Star Weekend that draw the interest of players and fans — the game itself, and the Home Run Derby the night before. But which is the bigger draw?

ESPN’s Buster Olney tells SBJ that for players, it remains the All-Star Game itself. “To get that honor, to be named by their peers — they want to play in the game,” Olney said.

However, Olney did add a caveat. “The event that spurs the most energy among players is the Derby. And all you have to do is look at the players who are not involved in the competition sticking around to watch Pete Alonso and the other guys put on a show and they gawk. … You see a lot of players who stick around for the first couple rounds because they’re as impressed as we all are with how far these guys are hitting home runs.”

The viewership gap for fans at home between the All-Star Game on Fox and Home Run Derby on ESPN/ESPN2 has narrowed to fewer than 1 million fans the past two seasons.

During a media call about the Derby, ESPN VP/Production Phil Orlins discussed the new rules that won’t introduce the one-on-one knockout format until only four hitters remain. Half of the eight competitors will advance in a first round that will be governed by either three minutes or 40 swings — whichever comes first.

“It’s equally valuable and important now that we come up with a concept to restore some of the drama and grandeur and imagery that came from those Mark McGwire-type moments in the past,” Orlins said, referring to the 1998 Derby. “So this is absolutely an effort to bring both those elements — the speed and the head-to-head, with the grandeur of drama of big, long home runs — and I’m just very, very thankful to MLB for their partnership on testing and developing it. Cross my fingers, I think it’s going to add an exciting twist to it, and I think it’s also going to make the event the best viewing experience it’s ever been.”

Players such as the Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. are helping the Home Run Derby’s viewership catch up to the All-Star Game’s audience

ESPN enhances Home Run Derby coverage with 4D Replay

ESPN is enhancing its MLB Home Run Derby coverage with immersive video from 4D Replay that will be shot closer than ever before, reports SBJ’s Joe Lemire.

During Monday night’s broadcast, ESPN will set up the 4D Replay cameras just beyond the dirt encircling home plate, about 15 feet from the dish. That tech enables 180-degree views where the video can freeze and spin around to another vantage point, which ESPN VP/Production Phil Orlins likened to the “Matrix” movies. Orlins noted that ESPN has used 4D Replay previously but only through mezzanine-level installations, rather than field-level setups.

Given the new rules for the Home Run Derby, in which participants in the first round have three minutes or 40 swings to hit as many homers as they can, ESPN is also introducing some new graphical elements to help viewers track the hitters’ progress. Akin to the NBA’s 3-point shootout, a bar will run across the bottom of the screen showing homer or out for all 40 possible swings, much like how basketball’s long distance contest displays makes and misses.

NFL begins work to overturn ‘Sunday Ticket’ verdict

The NFL started its quest to overturn the blockbuster $4.7 billion verdict in the “Sunday Ticket” antitrust trial, accusing the L.A. jury of misunderstanding basic concepts in the case and delivering a “nonsensical,” “irrational,” “indefensible” and “unsound” verdict, reports SBJ’s Ben Fischer.

Filed July 3, the motion asks Judge Philip Gutierrez to throw out the verdict, reduce it to $1 or order a new trial entirely. But NFL lawyers also argued the jury foreperson was biased and that Gutierrez gave improper instructions to the jury and allowed plaintiffs to change their whole theory of the case at the last minute.

If those arguments are persuasive with Gutierrez, the NFL could see relief in a matter of weeks. But the motion also contains the seeds of an effort to bring this case to a business-friendly U.S. Supreme Court, which would take years.

NHL inks global licensing deal with New Era

The NHL signed a multiyear licensing agreement granting Buffalo-based New Era Cap global rights to produce and distribute headwear and apparel for the league and its 32 clubs beginning with the 2024-25 season, reports SBJ’s Alex Silverman.

New Era is now a licensee of each of the five major North American team sports leagues — the NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB and MLS — for the first time in its history, and it also has a deal with LA28 to provide hats for Team USA. New Era has held licenses with individual NHL clubs for the past eight years, but this deal greatly expands New Era’s hockey business. In addition to New Era, ’47 Brand (which New Era is acquiring), Fanatics and Mitchell & Ness (a Fanatics subsidiary) also have global headwear rights for the NHL.

L.A. Sparks reach extension to remain at Crypto.com Arena

The WNBA’s L.A. Sparks will continue playing at Crypto.com Arena through 2029 after signing a five-year lease extension with building owners AEG, reports SBJ’s Bret McCormick. The Sparks were founded in 1996 and have played in the arena since 2001 (winning three championships during that span).

The arena has a bit more room for the Sparks after the Clippers left their space to move into the $2 billion-plus Intuit Dome. Crypto.com Arena — still home to the Lakers and Kings — is approaching the finish line of a nine-figure, multiyear renovation that has modernized the building and created new premium offerings.

Sports will be ‘critical’ for Skydance-Paramount

While there are a number of questions surrounding assets in a proposed Skydance-Paramount merger, the future of sports at the company won’t be one of them, reports SBJ’s Mollie Cahillane. Jeff Shell, the former NBCUniversal chair who is expected to be the new Paramount president, used words like “critical” and “cornerstone” during an investor call Monday when describing what sports will mean to the company’s future.

This week’s SBJ Media newsletter from Alex Silverman and Cahillane also covers:

Experts point to exposure, tech as concerns for Stars’ new local media plan
NFL Media continues thinning the herd with latest podcast move

Speed reads

MSG Sports promoted Jamaal Lesane to COO, reports SBJ’s Tom Friend. Lesane had served as interim COO following the departure of David Hopkinson in April, and now he’ll move into the role on a permanent basis.

Despite the USMNT’s premature exit, Copa América is averaging 1.17 million viewers through the quarterfinals across Fox, FS1 and FS2 (28 matches), writes SBJ’s Mollie Cahillane, which is up 45% compared to the 2016 tournament through the quarterfinals (807,000 viewers across Fox, FS1, FX, and FS2 — 28 matches). Meanwhile, Univision/TUDN is averaging 2.4 million viewers through the QFs.

U.S. Soccer named former WWE and Manchester United marketer Catherine Newman to the position of CMO, notes SBJ’s Alex Silverman.

The Red Bulls are converting seating for media members at Red Bull Arena into a new premium offering called The Box Seats, reports SBJ’s Bret McCormick.