Caitlin Clark's Lowest-Rated Playoff Game Outdraws Non-Fever First-Round Broadcasts

<p>Caitlin Clark's least-watched playoff game this year still drew a larger audience than every non-Fever first-round game with publicly reported numbers.</p><p>Indiana's Sept. 29 win over the Las Vegas Aces averaged 1.42 million viewers on Amazon's streaming service, according to Sports Media Watch. The largest reported audience for a first-round game without the Fever was 1.40 million for Golden State's Game 2 loss to Dallas on ESPN.</p><p>The difference was approximately 20,000 viewers. Clark's lowest number came on a streaming-exclusive broadcast and still finished ahead of every reported non-Fever audience, including those that aired on network television and cable.</p><p>Two nights later, Indiana's season-ending loss to Las Vegas averaged 2.25 million viewers across USA Network and CNBC, making it the second-most-watched WNBA first-round playoff game ever.</p><p>The most-watched first-round game ever featured Clark and the Fever against the Connecticut Sun in 2024, which saw Game 2 of their first-round series average 2.54 million viewers on ESPN.</p><p>Across three games, Clark helped deliver one of the largest first-round audiences in league history and a streaming audience that exceeded every reported non-Fever telecast. Reported figures were available for nine of the 10 first-round games. For Dallas–Golden State Game 1, this analysis uses a reported audience of 410,000 on USA Network and does not include CNBC viewers. OutKick requested the combined USA/CNBC total and ESPN2's Dallas–Golden State Game 3 audience but had not received a response by publication.</p><p>Those figures could change which non-Fever game drew the largest audience, though the silence from ESPN could indicate that they aren't in a hurry to make the numbers public.</p><p>Indiana's three games averaged approximately 1.93 million viewers, compared with 949,000 for the six non-Fever games. This gave Clark's games an average audience approximately 103% larger than the six other first-round games with reported audience numbers.</p><p>While networks, start times, and streaming distribution varied across all those games, the opening Sunday offered a clear comparison point. ABC aired New York–Minnesota and Indiana–Las Vegas on Sept. 27. The Liberty–Lynx opener averaged 1.20 million viewers while the Fever–Aces opener averaged 2.11 million.</p><p>On the same day and network, the Fever drew approximately 76% more viewers.</p><p>There is also a comparison within Prime Video. Washington–Atlanta's opener averaged 425,000 viewers. Angel Reese, who now plays for Atlanta, famously insisted in 2024 that people watch women's basketball "because of me too." However, on the same streaming platform, Clark's Fever drew more than three times the audience of Reese's Dream.</p><p>Last year, the Fever's playoff opener without an injured Clark drew 951,000 viewers on ABC, compared with 1.84 million for its opener with Clark the previous year. Both games aired in the same Sunday afternoon slot opposite the NFL.</p><p>The 2025 All-Star Game offered another example. With Clark sidelined, ABC averaged 2.19 million viewers, down from roughly 3.4 million in 2024. Then, with Clark back in 2026, the number jumped back over 3 million.</p><p>There is also evidence that fans will watch the league after Indiana is eliminated. In 2024, semifinals delivered strong audiences, including Liberty–Aces games that outdrew every game of those teams' championship series the year before.</p><p>For the WNBA, the opportunity is to turn fans who arrive for Clark into fans who stay for other players. These numbers indicate there is still progress to be made in that area.</p><p>The two Fever games on traditional television each drew more than two million viewers. Even Indiana's streaming-exclusive game edged the biggest reported non-Fever telecast. The six non-Fever games averaged under one million viewers.</p><p>The remaining teams now have a chance to make their own case to viewers, with a championship still to be decided. The WNBA's biggest draw is done for the season, and it remains to be seen how many viewers will continue to engage.</p>