Caitlin Clark equals big ratings! Of course, anyone who has been following Clark over the past few years knows the legendary draw she has been for the sport of women’s basketball.
As the face of Iowa basketball, she led a campaign of sellouts across the country, rival fans packing their home arenas to catch a glimpse of her before she moved on to the WNBA.
Those attendance figures translated to big-time TV viewership as well. Clark and the Hawkeyes broke record after record for the highest-watched women’s collegiate basketball games ever. Finally, the game was getting the coverage and respect that it deserved.
Naturally, that momentum surrounding Clark has not slowed down in the pros. While the Indiana Fever have not experienced much success on the court early on, starting the season 0-4, they have been a massive ratings draw.
Caitlin Clark has now played in the three most-watched WNBA games since 2002, with four of the top ten over that span coming this season alone: pic.twitter.com/Bc9FRZhAVc
— Sports Media Watch (@paulsen_smw) May 21, 2024
Indiana and Caitlin Clark already hold the three most-watched WNBA games since 2002, breaking the previous record set by the 2003 WNBA All-Star Game.
All three of Clark’s games on Nielsen-rated TV have surpassed the one million viewers mark. Indiana’s season-opening contest against the Connecticut Sun destroyed the previous record with 2.12 million people tuning in to ESPN2.
Indiana’s Saturday contest at the New York Liberty on ABC drew 1.71 million viewers and Monday night’s rematch against the Sun pulled in 1.56 million viewers on ESPN.
It’s not just the Fever that are the big draw either. The clash between the Los Angeles Sparks and the Las Vegas Aces was one of the most-watched games in league history as well, pulling in 1.34 million viewers on Saturday as the second half of the Fever-Liberty doubleheader of games on ABC.
With newfound interest in the sport and some much-needed changes happening for the benefit of the WNBA athletes, it’s safe to say that the Caitlin Clark era is getting off to a good start.
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