Caitlin Clark Return Provides WNBA Ratings Boost for Fever vs Liberty

Caitlin Clark being back on the court was good news for WNBA ratings.

Jun 14, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) shoots the ball while New York Liberty guard Natasha Cloud (9) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The Indiana Fever's 102-88 win over the New York Liberty on June 14 proved several things. One is that despite the Liberty not having their full roster available (starters Jonquel Jones and Leonie Fiebich were each sidelined), Indiana still had enough firepower to beat a team that had entered the game with an undefeated record.

And as if this came as a surprise to anyone, it also proved that the Fever are a completely different team with Caitlin Clark on the court as opposed to off of it. Clark, playing in her first game after missing the past five contests, added layers of depth and danger to Indiana's offensive attack, which proved to be enough to down the Liberty.

Something else that's no surprise is that TV ratings increased with Clark on the court. This was shown with a June 17 X post from ESPN that wrote, "The @IndianaFever's victory over the @nyliberty on Saturday delivered the 3rd most-watched WNBA game on ABC EVER 👏

🏀 2.2M avg. viewers (2.8M peak)
🏀 WNBA on ESPN up 14% from last season".

The @IndianaFever's victory over the @nyliberty on Saturday delivered the 3rd most-watched WNBA game on ABC EVER 👏

🏀 2.2M avg. viewers (2.8M peak)
🏀 WNBA on ESPN up 14% from last season pic.twitter.com/noWzK8RIFf

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) June 17, 2025

For context, the Fever's June 7 game against the Sky (which Clark was sidelined for) amassed 1.92 million viewers. The May 24 game between the Fever and the Liberty also had an average of 2.2 million viewers.

However, what might be the most impressive stat of all is the 76% increase from last year's WNBA on ABC regular season games. Given that Clark was playing last year, this suggests that the attention she draws is only increasing.

There was a lot of chatter about how the overall WNBA ratings plummeted by over 50% while Clark was out with her quad injury. This ratings rebound further proves her drawing power.