WNBA Ratings Rise 3% in 2025 Despite Clark’s Absence

Following a historic 2024 season, the WNBA delivered a slight viewership increase. The 2025 WNBA season averaged 969,000 viewers across ESPN networks, Ion, and CBS, a 3% increase in viewership relative to last year, according to Sports Media Watch. 

The numbers, however, are a little complicated. They include Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel measurement, which is expected to bump up viewership numbers across the board. 

The results across networks were mixed. 

2025 WNBA season viewership per network

• ESPN/ABC (25 games): 1.3 million, +6%
• Ion (30 windows): 627,000, -6%
• CBS (9 games): 1.27 million, +16%

But for a league that struggled to pull a million viewers to its finals games just two years ago, the ratings are an indication of a new baseline.

Lasting Caitlin Clark Effect

Clark’s absence was a clear blow to ratings as she and the Indiana Fever are still undoubtedly the league’s biggest viewership draw.

The four most-watched games of the year all featured Clark, including the season’s most-watched game: the opener between the Fever and Chicago Sky that drew 2.7 million viewers. 

Ion aired eight Fever games this year, though only one featured Clark—the network’s most-watched game of the year (1.25 million). Clark, who played in all 40 Fever regular-season games last year, was part of just one game that aired on CBS, which drew the network’s season high of 2.2 million viewers. 

But the Fever were able to maintain a significant following even without Clark. CBS aired two Indiana games that Clark missed, and they were the only other games to draw more than 1.3 million viewers.

On Ion, the other seven Fever games averaged 954,000 viewers compared to 1.19 million for the eight Fever games on the network in 2024. However, those were significantly more than the 505,000 viewers for 22 non-Fever games.

Non-Fever games, however, still saw a viewership bump. The 505,000 viewership number on Ion is up nearly 15% compared to 440,000 for 18 non-Fever games last year.