The Truth About WNBA Playoff Ratings Without Caitlin Clark

The WNBA Finals ratings are down from Caitlin Clark's last playoff game but way up from last season.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) watches practice Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, during a Butler men’s basketball practice at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. As part of Family Weekend at Butler, the men's basketball team opened its practice to fans. / Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Even in Caitlin Clark's absence her presence is felt. That's because WNBA discourse on social media can't seem to leave her out of the conversation, even when she is not playing.

This was evidenced yet again when a post by @HanaHoops went viral on X. The post read, "I thought people weren’t gonna watch anymore because Clark isn’t playing? 🙊".

It was sent in response to the news that the WNBA Finals between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx had the highest viewership ever recorded for a Game 1.

I thought people weren’t gonna watch anymore because Clark isn’t playing? 🙊 https://t.co/nVpRZI5ROE

— Hana 🏀 (@HanaHoops) October 11, 2024

This is of course great news for the league but the message above was an implied shot at Clark fans, and likely outlets who had reported on ratings falling without the Indiana Fever involved.

Here's the truth: Two things are true at the same time.

1. Games featuring Clark performed much better than other contests. That fact applied to her last playoff game with the Fever drawing 2.5 million viewers, as compared to 1.1 million for the first game of the WNBA Finals. Game 1 of the Fever and Sun series was also able to garner 1.8 million viewers in the midst of an NFL Sunday, which was a 330% increase over the 2023 first round game that aired on the same channel.

2. WNBA numbers as a whole are up in general, and the returns for Game 1 were terrific when placed into the context of previous years. The 1.1 million for Game 1 was a massive jump from the 729,000 drawn in the first game between the Liberty and Las Vegas Aces last season. That's an increase of 57%, making it the first WNBA Finals game to top a million viewers in over 20 years.

Caitlin Clark’s season finale averaged 2.5 MILLION viewers—cable’s most-viewed WNBA game ever. pic.twitter.com/XkuvuKKjeM

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) September 27, 2024

It is no secret that Clark's arrival in the league brought unprecedented ratings and attendance numbers with it.

Those achievements are too numerous to be digested easily but can be summed up by stating that the Fever routinely topped a million viewers, even in the regular season, which was the benchmark for history when it comes to the Finals.

But just because the ratings did not reach the peak seen with Clark and the Fever does not mean the WNBA Finals numbers are not still a resounding win.

Viewership for the championship series has increased year-by-year since 2019, with this year representing by far the biggest leap during that timeframe.

Five years ago, Game 1 of the WNBA Finals averaged 238,000 viewers, the smallest audience ever for a Finals game. Viewership has increased in each year since, hitting 1.1 million for Lynx-Liberty Game 1. pic.twitter.com/QXYjWCdrUh

— Sports Media Watch (@paulsen_smw) October 11, 2024

It also comes on the heels of the Aces and Liberty series routinely flirting with topping a million viewers, and the decisive Game 5 between the Lynx and Sun approaching that number as well.

All representing major increases from the past and outdoing last year's Finals.

So while Clark is obviously responsible for a huge increase in interest in the league, overall interest has remained high. Which is probably why so many are seemingly interested in ratings comparisons in the first place.

However, the data speaks for itself. And there should be no debate that the returns are extremely positive for the WNBA, both with Clark, and without.