Caitlin Clark’s Playoff Debut Scores Huge Ratings Despite NFL Competition

Some wondered what kind of impact scheduling Caitlin Clark’s debut playoff appearance in the middle of an NFL Sunday would have. The answer? People still like watching Caitlin Clark play basketball, even if the NFL is in action.

An estimated 1.84 million people watched Caitlin Clark and the Fever take on the Connecticut Sun in the opening game of their three-game playoff series. That number makes the game the most-watched WNBA playoff game since 2000. Even more impressive is that the game in 2000 – with 2.12 million viewers – was Game 2 of the Finals series between the Liberty and the Comets.

This means that Clark’s first-round playoff debut nearly beat out a Finals game with teams from two major television markets (New York and Houston) despite airing in the middle of an NFL Sunday.

According to Sports Media Watch:

Indiana’s win was the most-watched WNBA game to ever air on an NFL Sunday, surpassing Game 2 of the 2003 WNBA Finals (Sparks-Shock: 1.28M).

It was the 24th WNBA game this season to cross the million-viewer threshold (and 25th total telecast including the WNBA Draft), with Caitlin Clark having played in all-but-three (23 Fever games and the WNBA All-Star Game).

Prior to this season, the record for million-viewer audiences in a WNBA season was 15 in 1998. No game had hit the million-viewer mark since 2008.

And if you’re trying to gauge the “Caitlin Clark Effect” on this year’s WNBA postseason, know that the next most-watched playoff game on Sunday – one that included the defending champion Las Vegas Aces – only notched 461,000 viewers.

Game 2 between the Fever and Sun won’t have to deal with NFL competition. The two teams are scheduled to battle on Friday in a must-win game for Clark and the Fever.