Kate Linklark has no history of assessment.
The NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Final Four experienced a significant decrease in television ratings compared to last year’s record high viewership. With Clark absent from the tournament, the broadcasts of UConn versus UCLA and South Carolina versus Texas averaged 3.9 million viewers on ESPN, representing a 64% decline from the record-setting 10.8 million viewers in 2024. Front Office Sports.
Nevertheless, despite Clark’s absence, this year’s Final Four remains the second most viewed in history and surpassed the 2023 version featuring Clark.
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University of Iowa Hawkeyes guard Kate Rinklark cheered alongside her teammates during the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers game at the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Championship in Minneapolis on March 10, 2024. (Angelina Katsanis/Star Tribune via Getty Images)
However, Clark’s success as a college player elevated the sport to unprecedented levels last year. The championship match featuring Iowa and Dawnstaley’s South Carolina achieved better ratings than the men’s championship game for the first time ever.
With Clark entering the WNBA, the Pro League reaped the benefits of the popularity boost in 2024.
Clark emerged as the most viewed player in the WNBA, with all 14 of the season’s most watched WNBA games featuring her. Moreover, she set records for the most All-Star votes ever received by any player in WNBA history.
Kate Linklark’s influence on men’s basketball
Indiana Fever Guard Kate Rinklark is set to face the Dallas Wings of Indianapolis on September 15th, 2024. (AP photo/Michael Conroy, File)
In early September, Clark’s Indiana Fever attracted an audience of 1.26 million viewers during their game against the Minnesota Lynx, coinciding with the Friday night NFL match between the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers.
During Clark’s first regular-season finale against the Washington Mystics on September 19, 20,711 attendees at Capital One Arena established a new record for the highest attendance in a WNBA regular-season game.
Clark attracted a WNBA milestone Despite competing against the NFL, 1.84 million viewers tuned in for her first playoff match against the Connecticut Sun on September 22nd. She subsequently drew an even larger audience of 2.54 million viewers for Game 2.
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Kate Linklark of Indiana Fever was engaged in a press conference discussion held at Gainbridge Field House in Indianapolis on April 17, 2024. (Ron Hoskins/nbae via Getty Images)
However, after the conclusion of Clark’s Fever season, the WNBA playoffs saw a notable drop in viewers.
The initial match between Ace and Liberty, a rematch of last year’s WNBA Finals featuring the two most popular teams, garnered only 929,000 viewers.
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