Nearly three decades after airing the WNBA’s first-ever game in 1997, NBC is stepping back into the spotlight as a broadcast partner. And they have decided to announce their return with a marketing campaign featuring Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson, New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, and Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers. 

For many fans, using these three as the faces of that campaign simply doesn’t add up. In their opinion, a network returning to WNBA coverage after more than 20 years without covering it should have opted for more popular teams within the league. Specifically, many fans expected them to have Caitlin Clark at the center of the campaign as she’s currently the league’s biggest commercial draw. And so for them, not using Clark was a poor financial decision on NBC’s part.

 

NBC broadcast the WNBA’s very first game in 1997. And they continued broadcasting the league until after the 2002 season, when rights moved to ABC and ESPN. By returning to broadcast WNBA games again in 2026, this will be the first time in 24 years that WNBA games will appear on their network. This became possible as a result of an 11-year, $2.2 billion media rights deal they signed in 2024, which takes effect this season.

The new campaign will replicate the iconic vibe of ESPN’s beloved “This is SportsCenter” ads. The commercial features Saturday Night Live cast member Chloe Fineman giving Wilson, Ionescu, and Paige Bueckers a tongue-in-cheek “first day of work” tour of a faux NBC office. It’s a creative and charming concept, but the debate, however, is about who is in it rather than how it was made.

However, many fans may not be aware that Caitlin Clark‘s absence from the ad may be strategic. In January 2026, NBC Sports hired Clark directly as a special contributor for its Basketball Night in America NBA studio show. That makes her a regular on-air network personality from February 2026 onwards. 

So, with Clark already established as a network face in her own right, NBC likely saw little need, and little financial logic, in also deploying her in a WNBA promotional spot. She is already reaching NBC’s audience through her studio role. The ad, by design, appears to have been built to introduce and elevate the other premier stars who will specifically anchor the network’s WNBA coverage.

And those three stars, to an extent, appear more than capable of carrying that weight. A’ja Wilson is a multi-time WNBA MVP and reigning champion with the Las Vegas Aces. So she’s arguably the face of the league in terms of on-court dominance. Paige Bueckers arrived as the most anticipated No. 1 overall pick in recent memory when the Dallas Wings selected her in the 2025 WNBA Draft. And she has wasted no time making her presence felt. Sabrina Ionescu is also one of the most accomplished and decorated players in the league. So by any objective measure, this looked like a formidable trio.

Maybe fans will eventually come around, or maybe their reasoning that Clark’s exclusion from the campaign is a missed commercial opportunity is actually accurate. But regardless, NBC has now announced its return to WNBA coverage. And that announcement, to some extent, has generated a fair amount of conversation even before the league officially kicks off. Maybe they did not completely miss the mark with this campaign after all.

Fans Furious as NBC’s New Marketing Campaign Excludes Caitlin Clark

“Keeping the most popular player off for Paige Bueckers is ridiculous and makes zero financial sense. Whatever happens to this league, the players and league have to own it for their inability to make sound decisions.” That was one fan’s opinion on NBC’s new WNBA marketing campaign. And of course, they weren’t the only ones who thought this was. The exclusion of Caitlin Clark from the network’s headline promotional push sparked further backlash from fans who simply cannot make sense of the decision.

To an extent, these fans’ position on this issue is not entirely out of place. Caitlin Clark is indeed the most transformative commercial force that the WNBA has seen in a generation. Since coming into the league, viewership and attendance have skyrocketed. And, of course, it has brought in more sponsors and revenue. Against that backdrop, one fan’s question cut straight to the point: “When will the WNBA learn to market Caitlin Clark, the one player that lifted them up?”

For some fans, the reaction went beyond frustration and into action, or rather, deliberate inaction. “So no CC? The only way to torch ESPN and the WNBA is to not watch. These losers in management and media are too stupid to understand what Caitlin Clark brings to the game,” one fan wrote, signaling a boycott. Another reached for a historical parallel to underline just how absurd the omission felt to them: “Remember that time David Stern did not use Jordan to market the NBA? Neither do I.” 

The criticism didn’t stop at Clark’s absence alone. At least one fan took issue with all three choices, arguing that the entire lineup missed the mark. For this fan, the correct trio was obvious: Caitlin Clark, Napheesa Collier, and Kelsey Plum. “Should be Phee, CC, and Kelsey Plum, 3 most marketable stars, but all 3 relatively ignored for whatever non-curved reasons,” they said.

For now, NBC has no data that confirms that they have indeed made the right decision with this campaign. Maybe in a few weeks, the results will speak for themselves.

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