WNBA viewership is rebounding this season after slumping through Caitlin Clark\u2019s absence, with ESPN, CBS, ION and NBA TV all posting gains (Prime Video does not measure WNBA games). Each network is likely paying attention after Clark limped off at the end of Tuesday night\u2019s game clutching her groin (the same injury that kept her out for weeks).<\/p>\n
Games across ESPN networks (including ABC) are averaging 1.3 million viewers, up 7% after a strong performance this weekend from a Fever-Wings game (featuring Clark\u2019s return and her first pro matchup against rookie Paige Bueckers). That game drew 2.1 million viewers, which is ABC\u2019s fourth-best WNBA game ever (regular or postseason). ESPN networks were actually down slightly coming into the weekend. <\/p>\n
ESPN networks had aired 20 games by the All-Star break last year because of the Paris Olympics, compared to just 12 this year. Last season also saw a frontloaded schedule featuring Clark (nine of 10 Fever appearances happened before the Olympics). That compares to just four Fever games so far this season.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not just Clark and the Fever delivering for ESPN. Aces-Liberty on July 8 drew 701,000 viewers. Excluding any Clark\/Fever games, that would be the most-watched regular-season WNBA game on ESPN (cable network) since 1999. <\/p>\n
Looking at all non-Fever games across ESPN networks, the WNBA average is up 22% compared to the same point last season.<\/p>\n
Spreading the love<\/b><\/p>\n
Clark\u2019s return also has ION going from essentially flat to a big gain at the All-Star break. Friday night games on the broadcast network are averaging 595,000 viewers, up 12% from the same point last season. But the network has some work to do to match its full-season average of 650,000 in 2024. This past Friday\u2019s Dream-Fever game helped things along with 1.5 million viewers, which is ION\u2019s second-best WNBA game ever (behind only 1.6 million last season for Fever-Sky). Not captured in those audience numbers is some success ION is seeing with its FAST channel, which has seen 27% season-over-season growth (and growing faster than linear TV). <\/p>\n
Over at CBS, WNBA games are again pacing for a record. Six games have averaged 1.4 million viewers, up slightly from the same period last season (the network finished with a record 1.1 million in 2024). Paramount+ is also on pace for a record streaming audience for WNBA games. CBS also has had just one game that Clark has played in (it had two at the same point in 2024). But CBS does have a Sky-Fever game coming on Aug. 9 that should attract a big number. <\/p>\n
NBA TV is averaging 343,000 viewers for WNBA games, up 60%.<\/p>\n
Top games to date<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s no surprise that the Fever have played in the top games, securing seven of the top eight matchups. The top game was May 17 with Fever-Sky, with ABC drawing 2.7 million viewers. A pair of Fever-Liberty games are Nos. 2 and 3 with 2.22 million (June 14 on ABC and May 22 on CBS, respectively). Rounding the top are Wings-Fever this past Sunday on ABC (2.13 million) and Fever-Sky on CBS on June 7 (1.92 million).<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WNBA viewership is rebounding this season after slumping through Caitlin Clark\u2019s absence, with ESPN, CBS, ION and NBA…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":67335,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[15328,5723,18185,62,67,132,68,232],"class_list":{"0":"post-67334","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-cbs","9":"tag-espn","10":"tag-nba-tv","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-unitedstates","14":"tag-us","15":"tag-wnba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114863183327202949","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67334\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}