Indiana Fever's TV Ratings Exceed WNBA Semifinal Openers

<p>The Indiana Fever's regular-season games on major broadcast networks averaged more than twice the audience of the WNBA semifinal openers on October 4.</p><p>The playoff games were broadcast on ABC and NBC.</p><p>An OutKick review of Indiana's 10 regular-season games on ABC, CBS, and NBC found an average audience of approximately 2.32 million viewers. The two semifinal openers averaged about 1.16 million viewers.</p><p>This resulted in Indiana having an average audience approximately 100% larger, a difference of nearly 1.16 million viewers per game.</p><p>New York–Atlanta's Game 1 averaged 1.2 million viewers on ABC, as reported by ESPN. Las Vegas–Golden State averaged 1.12 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, according to figures supplied by NBC.</p><p>Just one week earlier, Indiana's first-round opener against Las Vegas averaged 2.11 million viewers on ABC. This game aired opposite the NFL yet drew approximately 76% more viewers than New York–Atlanta's semifinal opener on the same network a week later.</p><p>The stakes increased, but the audience decreased.</p><p>This data illustrates the significant impact Caitlin Clark has on the WNBA's television ratings.</p><p>The 2.32 million average includes four Fever games on ABC, four on CBS, and two on NBC, using reported audiences from the regular season. The NBC figures include Peacock, as does the Aces–Valkyries playoff figure.</p><p>Seven of those 10 Fever games exceeded two million viewers. Every one of the 10 drew a larger audience than either semifinal opener.</p><p>The smallest audience was for Indiana's May 30 game at Portland on CBS, which Sports Media Watch reported at nearly 1.3 million viewers. Clark had one of her less productive games of the season, scoring just 6 points on 1-for-7 shooting, and the Fever trailed by as many as 26 points.</p><p>Notably, a regular-season game against Portland in May, where Clark played just 22 minutes in a loss, drew more viewers than either game to open the WNBA semifinals in October.</p><p>Indiana's August 23 game against Chicago averaged 3.31 million viewers on NBC and Peacock. Its July 12 game against Las Vegas drew 2.64 million on those same platforms.</p><p>New York provides another useful comparison. The Liberty's two regular-season meetings with Indiana on CBS each drew over 2.5 million viewers. The Liberty–Dream semifinal opener drew 1.2 million on ABC.</p><p>Angel Reese, who now plays for Atlanta, previously stated in 2024 that people watch women's basketball "because of me too."</p><p>However, New York facing Clark's Fever in the regular season drew more than twice the audience of New York facing Reese's Dream in the semifinals. The numbers indicate that Reese's appeal as a television draw is limited, as Dream playoff games align with other non-Clark games and, in some cases, perform worse.</p><p>Atlanta's first-round clincher averaged 1.2 million viewers on ESPN, below the 1.4 million for Dallas–Golden State on the same network that night.</p><p>This is not necessarily bad news for the WNBA, as it reflects progress. Before Clark's arrival in 2024, the league had not had a game average one million viewers since 2008. Consistently surpassing that mark indicates real advancement.</p><p>The two semifinal openers averaged around 10% more viewers than last year's pair. Sports Media Watch ranked them second and third among semifinal Game 1 audiences since the league adopted its current semifinal format in 2016.</p><p>The only opener ahead of them was last year's Fever–Aces game, which drew 1.4 million on ABC even with Clark sidelined by injury.</p><p>This is encouraging for the league and highlights the audience Indiana has cultivated. Even during this year's regular season, the Fever drew 1.57 million against Los Angeles on CBS on June 27 without Clark playing.</p><p>There is an audience for the Fever beyond simply checking whether Clark is in uniform. The WNBA would benefit from fostering that kind of interest around more of its teams.</p><p>Even Indiana's least-watched first-round game, its 1.42 million-viewer appearance on Prime Video, outdrew every non-Fever first-round game. That streaming-exclusive audience also exceeded both semifinal openers on broadcast television.</p><p>Fans consistently found the Fever wherever their games aired. The remaining teams now have the opportunity to provide those viewers with reasons to continue watching.</p><p>It will be interesting to see whether the audiences grow as the series progresses.</p><p>For now, the remaining teams are attempting to match the numbers the Fever achieved in May.</p>