The much-hyped Caitlin Clark effect dealt its final blow in 2024.
Wednesday night's Game 2 of the first round of the playoffs between the Fever and the Sun drew 2.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched WNBA game broadcast exclusively on cable, ESPN announced.
This is the latest data point for a game featuring Clark that drew statistically significantly more viewers than previously thought possible in women's basketball.
Game 1 on Sunday was broadcast on ABC and was played against the NFL on Sunday afternoon. This time slot, which has a reputation as a death zone not only for sports but for all other television programs, attracted 1.8 million viewers.
During the regular season, games starring Clark and the Fever averaged 394,000 viewers, nearly triple the TV audience for any other WNBA game, according to Fox executive Michael Mulvihill. 1,178,000 people.
By comparison, last year's WNBA Finals between the Aces and Liberty averaged 728,000 viewers.
Despite this, Clark's WNBA ratings are still on the rise to the levels she peaked in college.
Earlier this year, the women's college national championship game, in which Clark's Iowa State team faced coach Dawn Staley's undefeated South Carolina team, drew 18.7 million viewers.
Now, after playing two seasons in a row, Clark can finally get some rest.
When asked what he plans to do with his newfound leisure once the sun wears off, Clark replied: “I don’t know what I’m going to do tomorrow, I don’t know what I’m going to do” the next day. Maybe I'll play golf. I plan on doing that until it gets too cold in Indiana. So I understand. I will become a professional golfer. ”
LPGA There was a short answer: “Please join us too.”
