Saturday night’s WNBA All-Star Game averaged 3.2 million viewers on ABC, peaked at 3.3 million and became the second-most-watched edition of the event in league history.The audience increased 44% from last year, when Caitlin Clark attended the game but didn't play because of an injury.This year, Clark returned to the court.WNBA All-Star Game ratings surged 44% with Caitlin Clark on the court.(Getty Images)One night earlier, however, she wasn't part of the WNBA 3-Point Contest after declining an invitation, and she wasn't among the participants in the WNBA’s new Shooting Stars event.CAITLIN CLARK DECLINES WNBA 3-POINT CONTEST INVITATION, DEALING MAJOR BLOW TO ALL-STAR WEEKEND AND ESPNThat audience, predictably, went in the opposite direction.After OutKick and Fox News Digital asked ESPN for the figures, a network spokesperson said Friday’s telecast averaged 1.17 million viewers on ESPN and peaked at 1.35 million.The average declined approximately 11% from the 1.318 million viewers who watched last year’s competition.Clark didn't compete last year either, but she was expected to make her 3-Point Contest debut before withdrawing because of an injury just one day before the broadcast.ESPN publicly celebrated Saturday’s strong audience.
It also promoted the 1.8 million viewers who watched WNBA Countdown, which featured a sit-down interview with Clark before the game.But its ratings graphic did not include Friday’s average or peak audience.ESPN didn't explain why.The 1.17 million figure is quite solid for a league that went 16 years without drawing a seven-figure audience before Clark arrived on the scene.It was the second-largest audience on record for the WNBA’s Friday All-Star events, approximately 68% higher than the 695,000 viewers who watched in 2024 and more than four times the 288,000-viewer audience from 2023.Still, the number declined.And ESPN, which found space in its graphic for Saturday’s game, its peak audience, the year-over-year increase, ...