SI

Caitlin Clark Just Pulled Off Her Most Impressive Ratings Feat Yet

The WNBA playoffs mean another ratings record for the Fever rookie.

Jimmy Traina

Caitlin Clark drew plenty of eyeballs for her first WNBA playoff game.
Caitlin Clark drew plenty of eyeballs for her first WNBA playoff game. / Mark Smith-Imagn Images

1. During the WNBA’s regular season, I had written that we have not seen a person impact a sport's ratings like Caitlin Clark since Tiger Woods.

Now the playoffs are here and Clark is still accomplishing things when it comes to viewership that are beyond impressive.

The Indiana Fever’s Game 1 playoff game against the Connecticut Sun on Sunday drew 1.8 million viewers. The game was up a shocking 330% over the 2023 first-round game shown on ABC.

Here’s some perspective on how significant that viewership number is:

- The game was going up against a full slate of NFL action.
- The game was a 24-point blowout that Clark's team lost.
- It was ESPN’s most-watched non-Finals WNBA playoff game of all time.

Think about that. Clark was able to pull off a 330% increase going against the NFL in a blowout game. Wow.

Here’s all you need to know about Clark’s popularity. While her Fever team pulled in 1.8 million viewers on Sunday, here are the viewership numbers for the other three WNBA playoff games that took place on the same day:

Storm-Aces: 461,000
Dream-Liberty: 410,000
Mercury-Lynx: 403,000

Clark plays again tonight on ESPN at 7:30 pm ET.

2. It’s one thing for me to write a column taking issue with ESPN for giving us the Jason Kelce Show in the middle of a game, as I did last week. It’s another for Chris “Mad Dog” Russo to mock ESPN for doing it WHILE ON ESPN. What a legend.

3. Here's a couple of things on that spectacular touchdown pass from Jayden Daniels to Terry McLaurin to clinch Washington’s win against Cincinnati on Monday.

What makes the play even more special is that there was mass confusion going on for the Commanders before the snap.

Also, the local radio call, as you’ll hear below, was electric.

4. The Pirates releasing Rowdy Tellez when he was four at-bats short of getting a $200,00 bonus is why the Pirates are the Pirates.

Tellez needed 425 at-bats to trigger the bonus. He got to 421 and the Pirates DFA’d him with six games left in the season. Just a completely bush league move.

Naturally, Pittsburgh GM Ben Cherington denied the move was made to save the cash, as if anyone would believe that.

5. Part of my daily routine is playing most of the New York Times games: Wordle, Connections, The Mini, Letter Boxed and Strands. I don’t like Tiles.

Anyway, I tell you this because the Times has now launched a sports-specific version of Connections, so you might want to check it out here if you enjoy the game.

6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with CBS’s lead college football play-by-play voice, Brad Nessler.

Nessler talks about CBS losing the SEC and landing the Big Ten, replacing the legendary Verne Lundquist and the one college football stadium he has never called a game in.

Nessler also shares stories about the various analysts he’s worked with through the years, reveals the one event he hasn’t called but would like to, weighs in on what he thinks of Tom Brady and Nick Saban as television stars, and much more.

Nessler also talks about his friendship with wrestling icon Ric Flair and reveals whether Flair or Bill Raftery is the bigger partier.

Following Nessler, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. In this week’s segment, we discuss ESPN’s Jason Kelce–heavy Monday Night Football broadcast of Falcons-Eagles game, the trend that NFL bettors should be aware of, Saturday Night’s Main Event returning to NBC, whether The Bear is a comedy, and much more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Netflix has dropped all six episodes of its Vince McMahon documentary series. I might have to call in sick tomorrow and skip Traina Thoughts so I can watch it. Anyway, I’m doing my best to avoid spoilers, but this seems like a good day for an old-school ridiculous WWE video.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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