Caitlin Clark’s First WNBA Playoff Game Breaks TV Record on an NFL Sunday

Stephen Douglas | Sep 24, 2024

Caitlin Clark and Lexi Hull on the bench late in the Fever’s Game 1 loss. / Mark Smith-Imagn Images

The ratings are in and it turns out that people like watching Caitlin Clark play basketball. Even when she's not playing well. With the Fever playing on ABC in the vaunted 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon time slot, the WNBA saw its best postseason rating in decades.

According to Sports Media Watch, an average of 1.84 million people tuned in to watch Clark's postseason debut despite the fact that it was an NFL Sunday and it turned into a blowout in the second half.

The Sun won the game 93-69 with Clark struggling to get anything going offensively. The AP Rookie of the Year finished with 11 points on 4-of-17 shooting and made just two 3-pointers. She also got a black eye.

Considering the circumstances, the ratings are especially impressive as it was the highest-rated WNBA playoff game since the 2000 WNBA Finals and the most-watched non-Finals game since 1999.

The Fever will play the Sun in Game 2 on Wednesday night. That alone should set a new record, but if Indiana can force a Game 3 at home on Friday night there's no telling how high the number can go. After what we saw in the NCAA tournament a few months ago, there's really no point in guessing.

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