The Indiana Fever's regular-season games on major broadcast networks averaged more than twice the audience of the WNBA semifinal openers on Oct. 4.
asserted
games → average → Oct.
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
uncertain
page → contain → partners
If you sign up or place a wager, FOX News may be compensated.
uncertain
News → sign → wager
This content was created by a team that works independently from the FOX newsroom.
asserted
that → create → newsroom
An OutKick review of Indiana's 10 regular-season games on ABC, CBS and NBC found an average audience of approximately 2.32 million viewers.
asserted
review → find → viewers
The two semifinal openers averaged about 1.16 million.
asserted
openers → average → million
That gave Indiana an average audience approximately 100% larger, a difference of nearly 1.16 million viewers per game.
asserted
That → give → game
New York–Atlanta's Game 1 averaged 1.2 million viewers on ABC, ESPN told OutKick.
asserted
ESPN → average → OutKick
Las Vegas–Golden State averaged 1.12 million on NBC and Peacock, according to figures NBC supplied to OutKick.
uncertain
NBC → average → OutKick
Just one Sunday earlier, Indiana's first-round opener against Las Vegas averaged 2.11 million viewers on ABC.
asserted
opener → average → ABC
That Sept. 27 game also aired opposite the NFL, yet drew approximately 76% more viewers than New York–Atlanta's semifinal opener on the same network a week later.
asserted
game → air → network
The stakes went up, but the audience went down.
asserted
audience → go → ?
That's a pretty good answer to anyone still wondering how much Caitlin Clark means to the WNBA's television business.
asserted
Clark → wonder → business
The 2.32 million average covers four Fever games on ABC, four on CBS and two on NBC, using reported audiences from the regular season.
asserted
average → cover → season
The NBC figures include Peacock, just as the Aces–Valkyries playoff figure does.
asserted
figure → include → Peacock
Seven of those 10 Fever games exceeded two million viewers.
asserted
Seven → exceed → viewers
Every one of the 10 drew a larger audience than either semifinal opener.
asserted
one → draw → opener
The smallest was Indiana's May 30 game at Portland on CBS, which Sports Media Watch reported at nearly 1.3 million.
uncertain
Watch → report → million
Clark had one of her worst games of the season, scoring just 6 points on 1-for-7 shooting, and the Fever trailed by as many as 26 points.
asserted
Fever → have → points
A regular-season game against Portland in May, where Clark played just 22 minutes in a blowout loss, drew more viewers than either game to open the WNBA semifinals in October.
uncertain
Clark → play → October
At the other end, Indiana's Aug. 23 game against Chicago averaged 3.31 million viewers on NBC and Peacock.
asserted
game → average → NBC
Its July 12 game against Las Vegas drew 2.64 million on those same platforms.
asserted
game → draw → platforms
New York offers another useful comparison.
asserted
York → offer → comparison
The Liberty's two regular-season meetings with Indiana on CBS each drew over 2.5 million viewers.
asserted
meetings → draw → viewers
Sunday's Liberty–Dream semifinal opener drew 1.2 million on ABC.
asserted
opener → draw → ABC
Angel Reese, who now plays for Atlanta, famously insisted in 2024 that people watch women's basketball "because of me too."
asserted
people → play → me
Well, New York facing Clark's Fever in the regular season drew more than twice the audience of New York facing Reese's Dream in the final four.
asserted
York → face → four
The numbers show that Reese isn't much of a television draw, as Dream playoff games are right in line with the other non-Clark games and, in some cases, actually worse.
asserted
games → show → cases
Atlanta's first-round clincher averaged 1.2 million viewers on ESPN, below the 1.4 million for Dallas–Golden State on the same network that night.
asserted
clincher → average → network
This isn't to say that this is bad news for the WNBA because it isn't.
asserted
it → say → WNBA
Before Clark arrived in 2024, the league hadn't had a game average one million viewers since 2008.
asserted
game → arrive → 2008
Consistently clearing that mark represents real progress.
asserted
clearing → clear → progress
Plus, the two semifinal openers averaged around 10% more viewers than last year's pair.
asserted
openers → average → pair
Sports Media Watch ranked them second and third among semifinal Game 1 audiences since the league adopted its current semifinal format in 2016.
asserted
league → rank → 2016
Last year's Fever–Aces game, which drew 1.4 million on ABC even with Clark sidelined by injury.
asserted
Clark → draw → injury
That's encouraging for the league, and another reminder of the audience Indiana has built.
asserted
Indiana → build → audience
Even during this year's regular season, the Fever drew 1.57 million against Los Angeles on CBS on June 27 without Clark playing.
asserted
Clark → draw → June
There is an audience for the Fever beyond simply checking whether Clark is in uniform that day.
asserted
Clark → be → uniform
The WNBA would benefit enormously from building that kind of interest around more of its teams.
asserted
WNBA → benefit → teams
As I reported earlier this week, even Indiana's least-watched first-round game, its 1.42 million-viewer appearance on Prime Video, outdrew every non-Fever first-round game.
asserted
game → report → game
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
