The WNBA is experiencing its best phase since it started in 1997. The interest in the league, ticket sales, streaming numbers, media coverage and everything else is at an all-time high. Major credit for this unbelievable feat goes to Caitlin Clark, who, despite being a rookie, has managed to bring millions of eyeballs to the league.
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Recently, Sports Media Watch reported that Clark and the Indiana Fever have broken several viewership records in the last few months. More importantly, the WNBA is now not only breaking its previous records but they are also dwarfing the numbers that the last NBA season managed to put up.
So far in the WNBA season, there have been 20 games that clocked an average of over a million viewers. Of these 20, Clark and the Indiana franchise featured in 17 games. This Saturday’s game between the Fever and the Lynx, that ended in the Lynx winning 90-80, averaged 569,000 viewers on NBA TV.
The game peaked at 705,000 viewers in the fourth quarter, making it a record-breaking run for a WNBA game on NBA TV. It was not only the most watched WNBA game on the platform, but it also topped all but five NBA games from the 2023-24 season that were streamed on NBA TV.
The five NBA games which were above the Minnesota win in viewership were playoff games.
Caitlin Clark and the Fever broke the NBATV WNBA viewership record on Sunday in their matchup vs the Lynx
It averaged more viewers than all but 5 NBA games on the network in the 2023-2024 season (via @paulsen_smw) pic.twitter.com/YIp6PHfnpr
— Clark Report (@CClarkReport) August 27, 2024
The WNBA has seen unprecedented success in the last few months and unsurprisingly, the rookie batch of the league has been crucial in the success. The recent Aces vs Sky game also broke records in viewership. With 1.22 million average viewers on CBS, it became the most watched game in the league without the presence of Caitlin Clark.
The most watched event for the WNBA this year has been the All-Star game, where ABC garnered over 3.44 million viewers. Outside of viewership, ticket sales (including season ticket sales) are also doing incredibly well.
Clark is also bringing major numbers in jersey sales.
We have SOLD OUT OF BOTH CLARK COLORS. https://t.co/DSHux2LE68
— Fever Team Store (@FeverTeamStore) July 12, 2024
Her WNBA All-Star jerseys were sold out in a blink of an eye. Within 12 minutes of making the announcement that Caitlin Clark jerseys are up for sale in two colors, the Fever Team Store updated fans on X that the jerseys have been all sold out.
What’s more impressive here is that they were selling for $130 apiece.
Fans now eagerly wait to see how much viewership Clark and her Indiana side can bring during the playoffs, especially if they manage to make it deep into the competition.
