Caitlin Clark's Record-Setting Game On Fox Destroyed NBA On ABC In Viewership

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The Caitlin Clark effect is very much real and very much alive. Whenever the Iowa Hawkeyes star laces up her basketball shoes, fans show up to watch or turn on their TVs to see the greatest women's college basketball player in history. Fans certainly seem more eager to watch Clark than NBA games, that's for sure.

On Sunday, an average of nearly 3.5 million people tuned into Fox to watch Caitlin Clark break Pete Maravich's all-time scoring record. At one point, nearly 4.5 million Americans had the game on simultaneously. 

As OutKick founder Clay Travis points out, that's more viewers than ABC drew for one of their biggest matchups of the season: The Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics. And, it was double the viewers of another game on the network, Mavericks-76ers. 

Additionally, Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal noted that Clark's performance even drew more viewers than Opening Night of the NBA on TNT and more viewers than the debut of the NBA's 2023 #1 overall draft pick. 

This serves as an important reminder that Americans still love basketball. They just don't like tuning into a league (the NBA) where the players incessantly lecture fans about racism, injustice, and other politically-charged topics. 

Not to mention, NBA stars frequently sit out games because they just don't feel like playing and call it "load management." 

More fans tuned in to see Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes than watched any NBA game on Sunday.

More fans tuned in to see Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes than watched any NBA game on Sunday.

(USA Today Network)

While I understand the argument that the NBA players are better and more skilled than the college kids – there's no arguing that – it doesn't automatically make the product more entertaining to watch. 

Go watch a college basketball game. The atmosphere of the crowd. The passion of the players and coaches. These kids CARE. 

NBA players don't care. They certainly don't care about the fans. They care about money and being famous. 

And Americans are rejecting that. As they should and as is their right. 

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to Outkick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named “Brady” because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.