Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever have delivered another record-breaking number, this time for Ion, while also outperforming NFL preseason competition.
Dallas Wings-Indiana Fever on Ion last Friday averaged 1.62 million viewers. That is the most-watched WNBA game ever on the network, which first started carrying the WNBA in 2023. It is also the most-watched telecast, sports or otherwise, on the network since August 30, 2022.
The broadcast was the top sports program of the day, beating NFL preseason competition (Buccaneers-Jets) on NFL Network. The Bucs-Jets matchup averaged 1.36 million viewers.
The WNBA game saw especially strong viewership among women. The game averaged 769,000 viewers among women, 180,000 of whom were between age 25 and 54.
Ion’s WNBA broadcasts are averaging 589,000 viewers this season, meaning Friday’s 1.62 million audience was nearly three times the network’s typical WNBA audience.
Clark and the Fever have been on a bit of a wrecking path when it comes to WNBA viewership records.
Earlier in the week, New York Liberty-Fever on Tuesday on ESPN averaged 2 million viewers. That is now the fourth-most-watched WNBA game in ESPN history.
Two days after Wings-Fever, Atlanta Dream-Fever on ESPN averaged 2.58 million viewers, which was ESPN’s most-watched WNBA game ever.
The records are not exclusive to ESPN and Ion. Two weekends ago, Fever-Chicago Sky averaged 2.6 million viewers on ABC. That is ABC’s most-watched WNBA game this season and its second-most-watched ever, behind Sky-Fever (2.7 million) in May 2025.
The most-watched WNBA game this season was Fever-Las Vegas Aces on NBC in July, which averaged 2.64 million viewers. That is the second-most-watched WNBA regular-season game since 2000.
Clark and the Fever will have another opportunity to set a record this Sunday. The Fever will take on the Chicago Sky in primetime on NBC.
After that, though, the opportunities will decrease for WNBA viewership records. The WNBA will take a three-week break for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in September. After Sunday, ABC and NBC will not air any more regular-season WNBA games, and ESPN only has one left: a doubleheader (featuring the Fever, of course) on Tuesday, September 22.
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.