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The first round of the WNBA playoffs have been a treat: The New York Liberty upset the Minnesota Lynx to become the first No. 8 to knock out a No. 1 seed, Arike Ogunbowale set a playoff scoring record to keep the Dallas Wings alive, and the Las Vegas Aces and Indiana Fever played a thrilling do-or-die Game 3 on Thursday night.
But with the defending champions coming out on top, the WNBA could feel the opportunity cost of the Fever’s elimination.
Caitlin Clark and the Fever have continued to be the league’s biggest viewership draw this season, when the WNBA once again saw viewership increases. Regular-season games featuring the Fever were the most-watched games across all of the league’s broadcast partners, with a list featuring several different opponents:
- NBC/Peacock: 3.2 million, Fever vs. Chicago Sky (8/23)
- ABC/ESPN: 2.6 million, Fever vs. Atlanta Dream (8/16)
- CBS: 2.6 million, Fever vs. Liberty (6/6)
- ION: 1.6 million, Fever vs. Wings (8/14)
- USA Network: 1.1 million, Fever vs. Golden State Valkyries (7/15)
- Prime Video: 1.1 million viewers, Fever vs. Wings (8/20)
The viewership for Games 2 and 3 of the Fever-Aces first round series have yet to be released, but Game 1 on Sunday drew 2.1 million viewers, the most-watched game on ABC ever, and more than any playoff game from last year.
The numbers are similar to the average viewership of the two 2024 playoff games the Fever and Clark played, her postseason debut. Game 1 that year averaged 1.8 million viewers, while Game 2 delivered 2.5 million viewers and remains the most-watched playoff game in decades.
Last year, even with Clark out for their entire playoff run due to injury, the Fever still drew a strong playoff audience.
The five-game second round series between the Fever and Aces averaged 1.5 million viewers on ESPN networks, about the same as the 2025 WNBA Finals that followed between the Aces and Phoenix Mercury. And that’s considering the entire WNBA Finals aired on ABC and ESPN, while two of the semifinals games aired on ESPN2.
Finals Records Still in Sight
The Fever have yet to make it past the second round since drafting the 24-year-old star guard in 2024, meaning series viewership has yet to feel the Caitlin Clark Effect. While Clark and the Fever could have delivered significant viewership growth, the WNBA still has a strong opportunity to at least set WNBA Finals ratings records.
The league’s most-watched finals game came in 1997, the inaugural season, when the championship had just one game and drew 2.8 million viewers.
The most-watched Finals series in the modern era came in 2024 between the Liberty and Aces, which averaged 1.54 million viewers and drew 2.15 million for its decisive fifth game. But the WNBA has seen its popularity increase over the last two years, even in games not featuring the Fever.
ESPN announced last week that its viewership for non-Fever games averaged 984,000 this year, up 24% from last year, a remarkable bump considering it could not pass the 1 million viewership threshold just three years ago. The 2023 WNBA Finals averaged 729,000 viewers, and its most-watched game drew 889,000 viewers.
NBC may also provide a significant boost in viewership. The network broadcast WNBA games this year for the first time in more than two decades as part of the league’s latest media deal worth more than $3 billion.
The broadcaster aired seven regular-season games this year, averaging 1.75 million viewers, the highest of all of the league’s partners. While Fever games drove that number, the network has already proven to grow basketball viewership after it was the key reason that NBA delivered double-digit viewership growth in the 2025–26 season.
But NBC will only broadcast Games 1 and 4 of the finals, while the USA Network will take the remaining five games. All seven games will be available to stream on Peacock. NBC and Peacock will also have exclusive rights to one semifinals series, while ABC/ESPN air the other.
