Indiana Fever regular-season games broadcast on major networks achieved an average viewership of approximately 2.32 million viewers, significantly surpassing the average of about 1.16 million for the WNBA's semifinal openers on Oct. 4. This disparity highlights the substantial impact of Caitlin Clark's presence on the league's television audience.
The comparison reveals that the Fever's regular-season games garnered an audience nearly 100% larger, translating to a difference of almost 1.16 million viewers per game. The semifinal openers, which aired on ABC and NBC, could not match the viewership numbers of the Fever's regular-season contests.
For instance, just one week prior to the semifinal openers, Indiana's first-round playoff game against Las Vegas, which aired on ABC on Sept. 27, averaged 2.11 million viewers. Despite airing opposite NFL programming, this figure was approximately 76% higher than the viewership for the New York-Atlanta semifinal opener on the same network.
An analysis of 10 Indiana Fever regular-season games across ABC, CBS, and NBC found that seven of those games exceeded two million viewers. Every single one of these 10 games drew a larger audience than either of the WNBA semifinal openers.
Even the lowest-rated Fever regular-season game, a May 30 matchup against Portland on CBS, attracted nearly 1.3 million viewers. This game occurred when Clark had a statistically poor performance and the Fever lost significantly. In contrast, a prime-time matchup between the New York Liberty and the Atlanta Dream in the semifinals drew 1.2 million viewers on ABC.
While the WNBA has seen progress, with league-wide viewership consistently surpassing one million viewers—a mark not seen since 2008—the data indicates that Clark and the Fever remain the primary drivers of significant television audiences. The two semifinal openers did represent a roughly 10% increase in viewership compared to the previous year's openers, and ranked second and third highest for Game 1 semifinal audiences since 2016. However, last year's Fever-Aces playoff game, which drew 1.4 million viewers on ABC even with Clark sidelined, still outpaced this year's semifinal openers.
Furthermore, the Fever's viewership extended beyond games featuring Clark. A June 27 regular-season game against Los Angeles on CBS, which Clark missed, still garnered 1.57 million viewers. The Fever's appearance on Prime Video for a first-round game, which drew 1.42 million viewers, also exceeded the viewership of both semifinal openers that aired on broadcast television.