Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever have become appointment viewing again as the regular season enters its final stretch. Saturday’s matchup against the Chicago Sky gave fans another close game, with Indiana holding on for a 90-86 victory after Chicago mounted a late comeback. Clark finished with 26 points and 11 assists, while Kelsey Mitchell scored 27 and set a WNBA record with her 16th consecutive 20-point game.
An early on-court drama also brought lots of attention surrounding the Fever and Sky. DiJonai Carrington was ejected in the first quarter after her flagrant-2 foul on Sophie Cunningham, while Clark received a technical foul that the WNBA later rescinded.
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
As the Fever prepare to host the New York Liberty on Tuesday, ESPN announced that its Fever-Sky broadcast averaged 2.6 million viewers on ABC and peaked at 3.1 million, making it the network’s second-most-watched WNBA regular-season game ever. The audience increased 79% from the same matchup window last year.
The number also marks the second consecutive week that an Indiana game has produced a historic audience. The Fever’s 108-100 loss to the Minnesota Lynx averaged 2.5 million viewers on ABC one week earlier, which ESPN had identified as its second-most-watched regular-season WNBA game ever at the time.
ESPN also reported that WNBA games across its networks are up 5% year over year.
The latest numbers give the league another strong indicator of the attention surrounding its biggest games, with Clark and Indiana repeatedly at the center of those broadcasts.
ESPN will have another opportunity to capitalize on the Fever’s enormous audience Tuesday night when Indiana hosts the New York Liberty, with live coverage on the network. The Liberty have gone 7-1 since their 20-point loss to Indiana on July 18 and enter the matchup at 20-13, while the Fever are 20-12.
The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
