Caitlin Clark Continues to Shatter Viewership Records in WNBA Debut
Caitlin Clark once again proved that she is far and away the biggest draw in women’s basketball.
Just weeks after shattering viewership records at Iowa in the March Madness tournament, Clark made her WNBA debut earlier this week and managed to draw the largest audience in league history.
Photo: Jeffrey Becker/USA TODAYSports/NPSTrans/tropic
The Indiana Fever’s season opener against the Connecticut Sun was the most-watched WNBA on ESPN platforms ever, with 2.1 million viewers across ESPN, ESPN+, and DIsney+. The game surpassed the May 22, 2004, Phoenix Mercury at Connecticut Sun game.
The game peaked at 2.3 million viewers in the 7:45-7:49 p.m. window.
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All WNBA Coverage Saw an Increase in Viewership
The second game of the night, the Phoenix Mercury at Las Vegas Aces, averaged 464,000 viewers, which was up 5% year-over-year. Combined, the two games averaged 1.26 million viewers, which was up 192% versus last year’s regular average on ESPN.
WNBA Countdown, ESPN’s pre-game show leading into Indiana at Connecticut, averaged 680,000 across all platforms, which was a 126 percent increase year over year.
Photo: Disney
The Caitlin Clark effect caused an increase in engagement across ESPN.com and the ESPN App, which delivered an increase in unique visitors of 409% year-over-year. Total engagement for WNBC content across ESPN social media platforms was also up 125% compared to last year.
Photo: Disney
While it remains to be seen if interest in Clark wanes as the WNBA enters its regular season, for now, she is perhaps the biggest draw in sports. ESPN has capitalized on Clark’s popularity by building much of their women’s college basketball broadcasts around her games.
