Without Caitlin Clark, WNBA Still Sees Historic Growth in Fans and Viewership

Caitlin Clark’s prolonged absences this season have sent ripples beyond the Indiana Fever. Without the biggest draw in the sport, many feared that the WNBA’s ratings would plunge and the league would fade from the spotlight.

Some numbers seem to lend credence to this notion.

This year’s most-watched game was the season opener that pitted the Chicago Sky against Indiana. The matchup between Clark and Angel Reese, broadcast on ABC, garnered 2.7 million viewers, according to Front Office Sports.

As of Aug. 2, the 56 nationally-televised WNBA games averaged 794,000 viewers, while the Fever outpaced that with 1.26 million viewers on average.

The viewership of games even without Clark, however, reflects a still-growing interest in the league. That figure — 794,000 viewers — marks a 21% increase from last season’s average. Non-Fever broadcasts are averaging 549,000 viewers, a 37% jump from 2024.

On Aug. 20, the WNBA set a new all-time single-season attendance record of 2,501,609. This mark broke the previous record set across 256 games in 2002, when there were 16 teams in the league. The league broke the record in 30 fewer games with three fewer teams this season.

The Golden State Valkyries have been one of the largest contributors to that figure.

Golden State has averaged a WNBA-record 18,064 fans per game at the Chase Center, which they share with the Golden State Warriors, and sold out all 21 of its home games.

While Clark remains the league’s most popular player, it’s clear she doesn’t solely dictate its popularity.

Clark announced Thursday that she would miss the rest of the season after battling a groin injury that’s kept her sidelined since July 15. While viewership has taken a step forward even without her for most of the season, the fact that there’s no possibility of Clark playing in the postseason is a blow to the W.

Even though Clark and the Fever’s time in the playoffs last year was limited to two games, those contests pulled massive numbers. Indiana’s pair of games against the Connecticut Sun drew 1.8 million and 2.5 million viewers, with the latter figure surpassing even the high mark of the 2024 WNBA Finals.

While the league certainly wishes it could showcase its brightest star on a playoff stage, if trends from the regular season continue, postseason viewership should still grow compared to previous years.

Ratings are an especially pertinent topic for the W right now. The league’s collective bargaining agreement is slated to expire at the end of October, and negotiations have remained at an impasse for months.

Players will likely point to viewership statistics — for games with and without Clark — during CBA negotiations.