Thanks to the arrival of former Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark and the rest of this rookie class, the WNBA is experiencing record TV ratings. In 2023, WNBA games on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, CBS, ION, and NBA TV averaged 462,000 viewers.
According to league reports, this figure nearly tripled in the first month of the 2024 season. An average of 1.32 million viewers tuned into games on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, CBS, ION, and NBA TV in the season’s first month.
Whenever Clark and fellow rookie Angel Reese face off, the games attract particularly high viewership. Their last two matchups were the most-watched WNBA games since the Memorial Day 2001 meeting between the Los Angeles Sparks and Houston Comets, which drew 2.44 million viewers.
The Indiana Fever’s 91-83 win over the Chicago Sky on June 16 drew 2.25 million viewers on CBS. More recently, the Sky’s comeback 88-87 victory over the Fever attracted 2.30 million viewers on ESPN.
In their latest matchup, Clark and Reese delivered record-breaking performances. Clark became the first rookie in league history to score 15+ points, dish out 10+ assists, and make 5+ three-pointers in a single game, while also setting the Indiana Fever’s single-game franchise assists record with 13. Reese finished with a career-high 25 points and 16 rebounds, marking her eighth consecutive double-double and extending her WNBA rookie record.
Reese scored 10 of her 25 points in the game’s final 6:38, including the go-ahead basket with 53.2 seconds left, erasing a 12-point deficit.
This level of play has kept Clark and Reese at the top of the WNBA Rookie Rankings. However, in the latest edition from CBS Sports, Clark is no longer in the top spot.
