Caitlin Clark’s debut nets WNBA’s highest ratings since 2001 with 2.12m viewers

2.1m watched the Indiana Fever’s loss to the Minnesota Lynx on ESPN, which was its largest WNBA audience ever.

Caitlin Clark’s regular season debut for the Indiana Fever averaged 2.12 million viewers on ESPN2, which was the highest viewership for a Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) game in about 23 years.

Caitlin Clark’s regular season debut for the Indiana Fever averaged 2.12 million viewers on ESPN2, making it the most-watched Women’s Basketball Association (WNBA) game in 23 years.

Confirmed:

Viewership for the Fever’s loss to the Connecticut Sun peaked at 2.3 million across ESPN2, Disney+ and ESPN+
The Las Vegas Aces’ win over the Phoenix Mercury averaged 464,000 viewers on ESPN2
Both games combined averaged 1.28 million viewers, which was up 192 per cent on the previous season’s regular season average on ESPN

Context:

Clark’s first game with the Fever was the most watched WNBA game since the Los Angeles Sparks’ game against the Houston Comets in 2001, which averaged 2.44 million viewers in 2001 for NBC. It also set a record for ESPN, with the network’s previous benchmark for a WNBA broadcast being the 1.43 million that tuned in for Diana Taurasi’s debut for the Mercury against the Sun in 2004.

The Fever’s loss ranked third for all sports broadcasts on 14th May, beaten only by two National Basketball Association (NBA) playoff games shown on TNT. It beat the National Hockey League (NHL) Stanley Cup playoff game between the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers, which averaged 1.99 million viewers on ESPN.

Coming next:

With Clark on board, the Fever stand to not only gain from increased viewership, but also from greater commercial interest. FanDuel is the most recent addition to its sponsor roster.

WNBA ticket sales on StubHub are up 93%. Aces, Caitlin Clark and returning stars fuel rise

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1 of 2 | CORRECTS TO CAITLIN CLARK NOT CAITLYN CLARK – LSU’s Angel Reese, left, and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, right, pose for a photo before the WNBA basketball draft, Monday, April 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

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2 of 2 | CORRECTS TO CAITLIN CLARK NOT CAITLYN CLARK – Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, left, poses for a photo with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, right, after being selected first overall by the Indiana Fever during the first round of the WNBA basketball draft, Monday, April 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

By  THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Updated 4:17 AM 12/11/2024, May 2, 2024

The wave of incoming rookies such as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso and the return of popular players A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum of the defending champion Las Vegas Aces have led to unprecedented demand for WNBA games on one of the world’s largest ticket resale platforms.

StubHub announced its sales for WNBA games as of Wednesday were up 93% compared with last season. The increase followed StubHub’s record sales for the women’s NCAA Tournament and for the 2023 WNBA Finals, spokesperson Adam Budelli said.

The highest ticket demand was for the Aces, who host three of the top 10-selling games. A total of six Aces season tickets, starting at $906 for 20 home games, remained. Overall sales for the Aces have nearly tripled (up 190%) compared with this time a year ago.

The New York Liberty, featuring 2023 MVP Breanna Stewart, were the second-most in-demand team with sales up 30%.