Caitlin Clark's Fever Debut Draws 2.1M Viewers; Most-Watched WNBA Game in 23 Years

Basketball fans still can't get enough of Caitlin Clark.

Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch reported Clark's debut with the Indiana Fever averaged 2.13 million viewers across the ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes broadcasts. That's the best rating for a WNBA game since a May 2001 matchup between the Houston Comets and Los Angeles Sparks.

The viewership also blew past the previous best for an ESPN game (1.43 million in 2004).

Those who tuned in to see Clark do something special probably came away a little disappointed.

The Connecticut Sun cruised to a 92-71 victory over Indiana. MVP runner-up Alyssa Thomas picked up where she left off in 2023 by posting a triple-double (13 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists). DeWanna Bonner dropped 20 points while Tyasha Harris and DiJonai Carrington each finished with 16.

Clark, meanwhile, made the wrong kind of history. Her 10 turnovers were the most ever for a player in their first WNBA game, per Across the Timeline, and that overshadowed her 20 points on 5-of-15 shooting.

Based on the ratings, the league probably considers opening night a roaring success.

The WNBA is betting big on Clark to be the kind of draw she was in her senior year at Iowa. Thirty-six of the Fever's 40 regular-season games will either air on national TV or stream on Prime Video. That's one more national TV game than the two-time reigning champion Las Vegas Aces got.

So far, Clark and the Fever equal box office.