• Loading stock data...
Thursday, May 8, 2025
Join us May 14 at 1 p.m. ET for Future of Sports: Leagues of Their Own Register Now

Nearly Every WNBA Broadcaster Has Set a Ratings Record This Season

  • Six networks have seen their most-watched WNBA games ever.
  • All but one of those telecasts featured Caitlin Clark.
Grace Hollars-USA TODAY Sports

Imagine a sports league is drawing up a game plan to set a bevy of new viewership marks across nearly all its broadcast partners. It’s highly unlikely they would plan to rely on a rookie leading a team with a lone victory and the second-worst record in that league one-fifth of the way through the season.

But that’s reality for the WNBA, which simply can’t stop drawing record TV audiences this month. It began with Caitlin Clark’s debut, which was the league’s most-viewed game in 23 years, and hasn’t slowed down since. Over Memorial Day weekend, three more networks drew their biggest WNBA audiences ever, and it wasn’t even all due to Clark, according to Sports Media Watch.

Spreading the Ball Around

So far, six different TV networks have broadcast the most-watched WNBA games ever on their channels, respectively:

  • ESPN2: Fever at Sun, May 14, 2.1 million
  • ABC: Fever at Liberty, May 18, 1.71 million
  • ESPN: Sun at Fever, May 20, 1.56 million
  • Ion: Fever at Sparks, May 24, 724,000
  • CBS: Liberty at Lynx, May 25, 704,000
  • NBA TV: Fever at Aces, May 25, 333,000

ABC also averaged 1.34 million viewers for Sparks at Aces on May 16, the network’s third-highest WNBA audience of all time. Indiana and Clark have also played one game on Amazon Prime Video, which doesn’t release viewership figures, and one game not on national TV. CBS gets its first crack at a Fever game June 16, and ESPN has multiple games featuring Clark in July, when there will be no NBA or NHL to compete with.

Even More Ahead?

Despite the phenomenon that is Caitlin Clark and the overall increased interest in the league, more work remains to be done in order to set all-time WNBA viewership records. No game this season has cracked the league’s top 10 broadcasts, which feature audiences between 2.46 million and 5.04 million on NBC in the WNBA’s inaugural season and early years.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Feb 9, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) lines up for the tush push play on the goal line against the Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl LIX at Ceasars Superdome.

Saquon Barkley Defends Tush Push, Tells Opponents to ‘Get Better’

Saquon Barkley makes a passionate defense for the hotly debated play.

Celtics-Knicks Game 3 Tickets Near Super Bowl Prices

Game 3 against the Celtics has resale ticket prices beginning around $700.

Reeling Cavs Have NBA’s Third-Most-Expensive Roster Next Season

Cleveland trails the Pacers, 2–0, in the conference semifinals.

Featured Today

Fat Perez reacts after hitting his shot on the 16th tee during the WHOOP Shot at Glory on the 16th hole at TPC in Scottsdale on Feb. 5, 2025.

Golf Influencers Are the New Currency for PGA Tour and LIV

YouTube golf is big business. The rival tours are staging formal events.
Feb 8, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson talks with New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11), forward Mikal Bridges (25), and guard Josh Hart (3) during a timeout in the third quarter against the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden.
May 6, 2025

Before the Villanova Knicks, There Were the Kentucky Celtics

Three decades ago, Boston tried its own version of the college-teammate experiment.
Mar 22, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Joao Fonseca (BRZ) reacts after winning a point against Ugo Humbert (FRA)(not pictured) on day five of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium.
May 6, 2025

João Fonseca Is a Teen Tennis Phenom. His Parents Are Overseeing His..

The Brazilian is forgoing a management team in favor of his parents.
Athlos
May 4, 2025

Nike Wants to Pull Off the First Women’s Sub-4:00 Mile

Experts speak on whether Nike’s “moonshot” is realistic or a gimmick.

Caitlin Clark Is Still Must-See TV, Even in the WNBA Preseason

Indiana will have 41 regular-season games nationally televised or streamed.
May 4, 2025

Kentucky Derby Sets Ratings, Betting Records Despite Attendance Dip

The crowd of 147,406 at Churchill Downs was down 6% from last year.
May 5, 2025

NBA Misses a Dynasty Duel—but Gains a Star-Making Moment

The Warriors defeated the Rockets in seven games.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Portfolio Players is our bi-weekly spotlight on the athletes and investors reshaping the business of sports. This week, venture capitalist Kai Cunningham unpacks why athletes land top deals and how the usual investing rules don’t always apply.
Fubo-TV
May 2, 2025

Fubo Loses Subscribers; Focused on Disney Deal Despite Antitrust Probe

The streaming company plans to debut its planned sports bundle this fall.
Jan 9, 2017; Tampa, FL, USA; ESPN president John Skipper during the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Clemson Tigers at Raymond James Stadium.
exclusive
May 2, 2025

Former ESPN President John Skipper Leaving Meadowlark Media

Skipper co-founded the company with host Dan Le Batard in 2021.
May 1, 2025

Formula One Courts Bidders As ESPN Exclusivity Laps Out

The motorsports property is in the final year of its ESPN deal.
May 1, 2025

How Larry Collmus Became the Longest-Running Kentucky Derby Caller

Collmus will call his 15th straight Derby on NBC.