Those invested in the WNBA, from Hall of Fame players such as Sue Bird to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, have repeatedly echoed how important it is for the WNBA to develop rivalries — whether those rivalries are between franchises or individual players. Rivalries have always sold sports as a content play — and they often carry the viewership model when it comes to nationally televised games. Based on viewership, it seems the WNBA has found itself a hot one.
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CBS’ telecast for the Fever’s 91-83 win over the Sky on Sunday averaged 2.25 million viewers, per the network, making it the most-watched WNBA game on any network in 23 years. The game peaked at close to 3 million viewers. Indianapolis was the top local market, followed by Memphis, Hartford, Columbus, Chicago and Las Vegas.
The game featured three of the top seven picks in April’s WNBA Draft — Caitlin Clark, Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese. Clark and Reese, of course, have played in some of the most highly viewed women’s basketball games in history including Iowa’s win over LSU in this year’s Elite Eight game which averaged 12.3 million viewers on ESPN. One year earlier, LSU’s win over Iowa in the 2023 championship averaged a then-record 9.9 million viewers and peaked at 12.6 million viewers.
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The game on Sunday, the case with so many of Clark and Reese’s games, became buzzworthy when Reese hit Clark in the head while going for a block, and referees quickly upgraded it to a flagrant foul. The chippiness in the game was reminiscent of the first meeting.
In that meeting, the Fever and Sky averaged 1.53 million viewers on ESPN (the game aired on a Saturday) and peaked at 2.19 million. Per Sports Media Watch: Clark and the Fever have now played in each of the five most-watched WNBA games since 2002, with two of those five matchups coming against Chicago.
The Fever next play the Sky on June 23 at 4:00 p.m. ET, a game that will air nationally on ESPN and have plenty of interest.
Required reading
- Caitlin Clark’s most complete game as a rookie takes down Angel Reese and Sky
- Indiana’s Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston shine to earn win over Chicago Sky: Key takeaways
- Angel Reese given flagrant foul for block attempt on Caitlin Clark in second meeting between rookies
(Photo: Emilee Chinn / Getty Images)