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ESPN Called Out for WNBA All-Star Game Ratings Graphic
The WNBA All-Star Game was held this past Saturday in Indianapolis and it was missing one of its biggest stars, as Caitlin Clark was forced to watch from the sidelines due to a groin injury.
Clark has become must-see TV since being the No. 1 pick in last year's WNBA draft and fans were rightfully bummed that she wasn't able to play against the other best players in the league on what was a very fun weekend for the WNBA.
On Tuesday, ESPN PR shared a graphic that celebrated the ratings for the All-Star Game. In that graphic it said that this year's game was up 158% in viewers. That's a huge number and one definitely worth celebrating, but a closer look at the graphic shows that it was being compared to the 2023 All-Star Game, which Clark also didn't play in because she was still in college.
USA Today's Christine Brennan called out ESPN over that graphic, providing some details on how last year's game, which Clark played in, had much higher ratings than this year's.
"Why does ESPN PR continue to mislead its followers?," Brennan tweeted. "The 2025 All-Star Game viewership was not historic. It was a huge drop from last year. In 2024, 3.44 million watched when Caitlin Clark played in the game. This year, with Clark injured, viewership plummeted to 2.2 million."
Here's that graphic:
Why does ESPN PR continue to mislead its followers? The 2025 All-Star Game viewership was not historic. It was a huge drop from last year.
— Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) July 22, 2025
In 2024, 3.44 million watched when Caitlin Clark played in the game. This year, with Clark injured, viewership plummeted to 2.2 million. https://t.co/V1QtzEokrS
ESPN was technically correct with all of the numbers it presented, but the wording was indeed a bit misleading. It was still a strong weekend for the league, that continues to pick up steam.
As for Clark, she missed Tuesday night's loss to the New York Liberty and her coach isn't so sure when she will make her return.
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Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.