And this one might be even more impressive than some of the bigger ones.Clark and the Indiana Fever helped deliver an average audience of 1.04 million viewers for Wednesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Sparks, according to USA Sports PR.WNBA viewership hit a cable milestone as Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever drew 1.04 million viewers against the Los Angeles Sparks in a 10 p.m.ET Wednesday game.
(Tyler Ross/NBAE via Getty Images)The Fever lost, 106-92, and Clark played just 16 minutes in her return from a back injury that had kept her out for the previous two weeks.But that feels secondary to the bigger story here.WNBA WANTS A BIGGER STORY THAN CAITLIN CLARK, BUT TV RATINGS KEEP POINTING BACK TO HEROne million viewers is a monster number for the WNBA under almost any circumstance.But these weren't exactly favorable circumstances.The game aired across USA Network and CNBC.
Clark has drawn much bigger numbers on broadcast television, but this was cable-only.Additionally, this was not a weekend showcase game.It didn't even air in a friendly weeknight window.
The game, played in Los Angeles, started on a Wednesday night at 10 p.m.ET.And it still averaged more than one million viewers.According to USA Sports PR, citing Nielsen Big Data + Panel data, Fever-Sparks was the network’s most-watched WNBA game on record, up 149% compared to the 2025 cable average.
The network also said it marked the first time in WNBA history that a game with a 10 p.m.ET start averaged at least one million viewers.That’s a pretty big deal.CAITLIN CLARK BREAKS WNBA RECORD AS FEVER HUMILIATE DEFENDING CHAMPION ACES IN LAS VEGASIndiana’s opening-weekend game against the Dallas Wings averaged 2.49 million viewers on ABC, making it the league’s fourth-largest audience, including playoffs and All-Star Games, since 2000.
Clark and the Fever later averaged 2.56 million viewers for a CBS game against the New York Liberty, the third-largest WNBA audience of any kind since 2000.Th...