Indiana Fever vs. New York Liberty draws 1.71 million viewers, sets new ABC record for WNBA game
Once again, Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever set a TV ratings record. Saturday’s game against Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty became the most-watched WNBA game in ABC history.
That matchup – a 91-80 Liberty victory – averaged 1.71 million viewers to become the second-most watched game in the WNBA since 2002, according to Sports Media Watch. It trailed only Clark’s WNBA debut against the Connecticut Sun, which drew more than 2 million viewers, for the top spot.
In fact, through the first couple weeks of the season, the Fever have the three most-watched games in the last 22 years. Indiana’s loss to the Sun in Monday night’s rematch brought in 1.56 million viewers, which came in third on the all-time list.
It’s been a rough start to the year for the Fever, who bring an 0-4 record into Wednesday’s game against the Seattle Storm. As for Clark, she shook off a shaky beginning of her career and appears to have found her stride over the last couple games. Indiana nearly pulled off a fourth-quarter comeback against Connecticut on Monday as Clark totaled 17 points and five assists to help lead the charge.
It’s not just Clark and the Fever drawing eyeballs, though. Viewership appears to be increasing league-wide.
After the Liberty knocked off the Fever on Saturday, the Los Angeles Sparks and Las Vegas Aces capped off ABC’s doubleheader. The two-time defending champion Aces came away with the 89-82 victory, but the game averaged 1.34 million viewers to become the most-watched WNBA game – outside of those involving Clark – in 20 years.
That was also the fourth game of the year to go over 1 million viewers. According to Sports Media Watch, it had been 16 years since the WNBA had that type of audience before Clark’s record-setting debut.
How the ‘Caitlin Clark Effect’ carried to the WNBA
At the tail end of her career at Iowa, Clark helped set multiple viewership records as she chased the NCAA’s all-time scoring title. That continued into the NCAA Tournament, which saw three straight Hawkeyes games bring in record viewership – capped off by the national championship with 18.7 million viewers to become the most-watched sporting event outside of the Olympics and football since 2019.
The national title game took place April 7. Eight days later, the WNBA held its draft in front of a record audience in what ESPN’s Rebecca Lobo called the most anticipated draft she could remember. Of course, Clark wasn’t the only name on the board as she headed to the Indiana Fever at No. 1. Cameron Brink went No. 2 to the Los Angeles Sparks, two-time champion Kamilla Cardoso went to the Chicago Sky at No. 3 and Angel Reese joined her in the Windy City at No. 7.
That means it’s not just Clark bringing eyeballs to the W. An exciting rookie class along with stars across the league increasing their profile through endorsement deals – not to mention more coverage – are all playing roles in the surge.