2.1 Million Watched Caitlin Clark’s WNBA Debut—League’s Most-Watched Game In Decades

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Indiana Fever v Connecticut Sun

KEY FACTS

About 2.1 million people—and a peak of 2.3 million—watched the Indiana Fever’s season opener Tuesday on ESPN2, ESPN+ and Disney+, in which they fell to the Connecticut Sun 92-71.

The game was the most-watched for the league since 2001, when 2.44 million watched Sheryl Swoops and the Los Angeles Sparks play the Houston Comets on Memorial Day, according to Sports Media Watch, and the most watched WNBA game on ESPN platforms ever.

In the one other nationally televised game Tuesday, 464,000 people watched the defending champion Las Vegas Aces’ home opener against the Phoenix Mercury, in which Las Vegas won 89-80, ESPN said, an increase of 5% over last year.

The other two WNBA season openers Tuesday were not aired on national television.


Last year was the WNBA’s most-watched regular season in more than two decades, with viewership on networks like ABC, CBS and ESPN and ESPN2 up 21% compared to the previous year and games on ABC, ESPN and CBS averaging about 505,000 viewers, according to the league.


The WNBA regular season broadcasts live across a number of networks and streaming platforms, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ABC, NBA TV, ION, Prime Video, CBS, CBS Sports Network, Paramount+, Meta Quest and WNBA League Pass, Variety reported.

SURPRISING FACT

Clark, who many consider the greatest women’s college basketball player of all-time, had a rocky start to her professional career. The Fever fell flat in their opener, with Clark having 10 turnovers, though the former Iowa guard did score 20 points.

KEY BACKGROUND

Ahead of the start of the season, the WNBA received increased attention and demand, following a similar trend that women’s college basketball had in recent years as Clark surged to stardom. The increased attention is largely credited to the addition of high-profile rookies likeClark and former LSU star Angel Reese, who brought large fan bases to the college game. For the first time in history, the women’s NCAA national championship drew more viewers than the men’s. The increased viewership showed early signs of continuing into the WNBA, with ticket sales ahead of the season’s start up 93% compared to last year on StubHub and ESPN deciding to air two of the first games of the season live on Disney+.

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