WNBA Ratings Crash by 50% After Caitlin Clark’s Injury

The WNBA is feeling the effects of Caitlin Clark‘s absence off the court as well. League-wide TV ratings have plummeted since the Indiana Fever rookie sensation suffered a quad injury during a game against the New York Liberty on May 24.

Without Clark in the lineup, interest has drastically decreased, despite the fact that her star power is unquestionably driving viewership, according to the stats.

Since Clark’s injury, the number of people watching nationally televised WNBA games has decreased by 55%, according to Nielsen data. Before her injury, televised broadcasts of Fever games averaged a healthy 1.81 million viewers. That figure has since fallen to 847,000, a startling 53% decrease.

Caitlin Clark is a bigger star than Angel Reese

Recent statements by Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese, who implied that Clark wasn’t entirely to blame for the WNBA’s ratings surge earlier in the season, are directly at odds with the ratings decline.

Angel Reese:

“We got celebrities coming to games. Sold out arenas… The reason why we’re watching women’s basketball is not just because of one person… it’s because of me too and I want y’all to realize that.”pic.twitter.com/PVY1x6eQnx

— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) June 3, 2024

The current viewing decline indicates that Clark is the primary driver of the WNBA’s ratings gain this season, even if Reese has contributed her own strong presence and fans to the league and her games with Clark have garnered record attention. With sold-out stadiums, sold-out jerseys, and unheard-of media coverage circling her every step since being selected first overall out of Iowa, her influence has been nothing short of revolutionary.

That momentum has been momentarily halted by Clark’s injury, and it’s not yet certain when she will play again.

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