Fever-Sky Ratings Show Caitlin Clark's Drawing Power Could Keep Growing

The Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky produced the biggest WNBA audience this century.

Aug 20, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) shoots a free throw against the Dallas Wings during the first half at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It's not breaking news that games involving Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever have set many WNBA ratings records.

In fact, this season alone, Clark and the Fever have set new marks for ESPN, Amazon Prime Video, USA Network, ION, and CBS when it comes to WNBA viewership.

But the biggest number yet actually came this past Sunday in Clark and the Fever's victory over the Chicago Sky.

It was a game that had a bit of everything, as Enes Kanter Freedom was notably ejected, but the on-court action was the reason people tuned in, and they got to see Clark drop a career-high eight three-pointers, at the expense of DiJonai Carrington and the Sky.

The contest drew an average of 3.31 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, making it the WNBA's most-watched regular-season game since the league's opening weekend in 1997. This comes off a run of recent Fever games on either ESPN or network TV going over the 2 million viewer benchmark.

And while the entire league has seen viewership averages increase, the peaks continue to come in games involving Clark.

Ratings Should Keep Climbing

It'd be reasonable to have wondered whether the impact Clark had upon her arrival in 2024 would be able to sustain itself into the future, particularly after she missed the bulk of her 2025 campaign due to injury.

However, that has been dismissed, with authority.

In fact, every measure around the league has gone up since then. That goes for ratings, attendance, franchise valuations, and player salaries.

But what's most impressive about this most recent number from the game against the Sky is that it built on what came before. It also didn't require a marquee opponent. Chicago is 15-24 and of course Angel Reese is no longer on the roster. If Clark and company were able to garner their biggest audience yet, and didn't even need a star on the other side, imagine where the numbers could climb as the season goes along.

The Fever have already clinched the playoffs. So they are guaranteed to play high-leverage games against a good team. If they are able to make a run in the postseason, it's not far-fetched to expect the ratings numbers to increase exponentially.

That would mean not only does the audience tuning in to watch Clark continue to grow, but the most-watched WNBA game in history is certainly on the table without any qualifiers.