The WNBA and Caitlin Clark have delivered another season-high audience for ESPN and ABC.
The Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky game last weekend averaged 2.6 million viewers on ABC, the most watched contest on the network this season. The game is the second most watched WNBA regular season game this season, behind Indiana’s game against the Las Vegas Aces on NBC’s only Sunday Night Basketball game in July.
Viewership peaked at 3.1 million viewers.
Fever-Sky is the second-most-watched WNBA regular season game ever on ESPN, behind Sky-Fever on ABC in May 2025. It is the fifth most watched WNBA telecast period since 2000, behind the 2024 and 2026 WNBA All Star games, along with the previously mentioned Fever-Aces and Sky-Fever games.
This is the second consecutive week that the Fever have set a season high for ABC. Last week, Indiana’s matchup with the Minnesota Lynx averaged 2.5 million viewers.
Through 19 games this season, WNBA games on ABC and ESPN are averaging 1.2 million viewers. That’s up 5% from last year, which is well within the range that could be explained by Nielsen’s shift to the new Big Data methodology. It is also worth noting that Caitlin Clark suffered a season ending injury last season on July 15.
On all networks combined, WNBA regular season games were averaging 756,000 viewers as of Wednesday, August 5, according to Sports Media Watch. That viewership is up by 15%, much more than the ESPN and ABC viewership increase, which could be explained by the addition of a fourth over-the-air broadcast partner in NBC.
Amidst all the drama and off-court storylines that have followed the league this season, one thing remains a constant. Caitlin Clark continues to be a major driver for WNBA audiences.
About Manny Soloway
Manny Soloway is a Iowa based writer focusing on TV ratings. He is also the founder of the TV Media Blog substack.