Caitlin Clark Delivered Massive Ratings Again For WNBA Prior To Injury
Clark's injury is a massive blow to the WNBA, which leans on its superstar for virtually all of its public attention.
There are three things you can count on in American society right now: death, taxes and Caitlin Clark helping to draw seven-figure TV audiences for the WNBA, a league that almost never saw those numbers prior to Clark's arrival. Other players in the league may claim that the WNBA's popularity is "not because of one player" but the data says… well, the data says it's because of one player.
On Saturday, Clark's Indiana Fever lost in a thriller against the defending WNBA champions, the New York Liberty. Clark had 18 points, 10 assists and five rebounds, but she also committed a season-high 10 turnovers and shot just 2-11 from three. However, she was one of only two Indiana players who posted a positive plus-minus in the contest.
Saturday's Indiana Fever loss to the New York Liberty drew over 2 million TV viewers for CBS, thanks mostly to superstar Caitlin Clark.
(Grace Smith/Imagn Images)
Unfortunately, after the game, the Fever announced that Clark suffered a quadriceps injury and is expected to miss at least two weeks. These will be the first games that Clark has missed since high school, which is tough for her but even tougher for the WNBA. The league has built on Clark's momentum and carried it over into this season.
Clark had already helped the league draw 2.7 million viewers for the Fever's season-opening win over Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky. Against the Liberty this past weekend, over 2.2 million people tuned in. It was the fifth-highest rated WNBA regular season game over the past two seasons. Guess which team has played in all five of those?
It's going to be very interesting to see how the WNBA ratings fare without their golden goose on the court. Clark is likely to miss the rematch against Angel Reese on June 7, a game slated to air on CBS. As mentioned, Sky vs. Fever matchups account for the three-highest rated WNBA regular season games over the past two seasons. Of course, Clark played in all of those games.
Angel Reese has said in the past that she's part of the reason people tune into the WNBA. Well, we're going to find out. Reese and the Sky have a great timeslot on network TV in a game that likely won't feature Clark. Let's see how many fans tune in for Reese when Clark is on the sideline.