Caitlin Clark’s WNBA impact: Record-breaking 2.5 million viewers for playoffs, will they stay?

The Indiana Fever guard continues to attract massive audiences, pushing WNBA viewership to new heights

Caitlin Clark’s WNBA Playoff Game Smashes TV Viewership Records with 2.5 Million Viewers(AP Photo/Jessica Hill)LAPRESSE

In the world of women’s basketball, few players have commanded the spotlight quite like Caitlin Clark. Since her electrifying debut in the WNBA, Clark has redefined what’s possible for viewership in the sport, taking the league to new heights and smashing records along the way. The 2024 WNBA playoffs were no exception, and once again, Clark’s impact was front and center.

For years, women’s basketball has fought for visibility, and Wednesday night’s playoff game between the Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun marked another significant milestone. ESPN revealed that Game 2 drew an astounding 2.5 million viewers, setting a new record as the most-watched WNBA game ever to air exclusively on cable. This number is more than just a statistic-it’s a testament to Clark’s magnetic draw and the broader cultural shift in how fans engage with women’s sports.

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Though the Fever ultimately fell to the Sun in the first-round matchup, Clark’s presence on the court has become synonymous with skyrocketing ratings. Sunday’s Game 1, airing on ABC and competing with the NFL-a notorious ratings juggernaut-still managed to pull in 1.8 million viewers. This figure, while remarkable on its own, becomes even more impressive when considering the challenges of airing during a time slot widely known as a “death zone” for television.

Throughout the regular season, Clark’s games consistently pulled in viewers at an unprecedented rate. According to Fox Sports’ Michael Mulvihill, games featuring Clark and the Fever averaged 1.178 million viewers, nearly tripling the viewership of other WNBA games, which averaged just 394,000. For a league long overshadowed by its male counterparts, these numbers signify a monumental shift.

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To put it in perspective, last year’s WNBA Finals between the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty averaged 728,000 viewers. Clark’s regular season viewership was already blowing past these figures, underscoring just how much of an anomaly her presence is in the league’s history. Still, there’s room to grow. While the WNBA has enjoyed this surge, Clark’s college days remain unmatched in terms of viewership.

The 2023 NCAA Women’s National Championship game, which featured Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes against South Carolina, drew an eye-popping 18.7 million viewers-numbers that WNBA games, for now, can only dream of. However, with Clark’s star power, the gap between college and professional women’s basketball ratings may not seem insurmountable for long.