Kate Clark’s ability to draw in viewers isn’t confined just to regular seasons and playoffs.
This past Sunday, Clark and her team brought US-Brazil relations back to a historical low, defeating the Brazilian women’s national team 108-44 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa.
In a surprising turn, tickets for the event, which sold out in just 15 minutes thanks to Clark’s popularity as arguably the best female basketball player ever, averaged around $670.
Remarkably, the game pulled in 1.3 million viewers despite being a pre-season affair and lacking competitiveness.
“Out of the 57 NBA preseason games aired since 2010, only two have hit over one million viewers, both featuring LeBron James,” noted Flora Kelly, ESPN’s Vice President of Research.
The impressive preseason ratings likely caused quite a stir among executives at ESPN, Amazon Prime Video, CBS, CBS Sports Network, and NBA TV, all of which are set to broadcast 41 of the Fever’s 44 regular-season games.
If Clark can draw over a million viewers for a preseason game, it might lead to shattered viewer records throughout the season.
