Caitlin Clark's basketball return scores massive TV ratings
Caitlin Clark
Photo:/AFP
Caitlin Clark's return on the weekend after a five-game injury absence was ESPN's third most-watched Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) game ever on ABC.
The Indiana Fever star, sidelined since 24 May with a left quadriceps strain, scored a season-high 32 points with seven 3-pointers, eight rebounds and nine assists in a 102-88 victory against the previously unbeaten New York Liberty in Indianapolis.
The Fever's win against the defending WNBA champions drew an average of 2.2 million viewers with a peak of 2.8 million, according to Nielsen numbers released Wednesday by ESPN.
That average was up a whopping 76 percent over last season's average audience for WNBA games on ABC. So far in 2025, viewership is up 15 percent from 2024 across ESPN's platforms.
Clark, 23, is averaging 21.6 points, 9.2 assists and 6.4 rebounds and shooting 36.7 percent from 3-point range in five starts this season.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft out of Iowa, Clark earned All-Star, All-WNBA and Rookie of the Year honors last season.
- Reuters
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