Fever-Sun Game 1 was the most-watched WNBA game ever on ESPN networks | That’s the Caitlin Clark Effect

A record-setting audience tuned into Caitlin Clark’s first playoff game. ABC used it as counterprogramming on NFL Sunday, and it worked — even in a blowout.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — We were all interested to see how large of audience would tune in to watch Caitlin Clark’s WNBA Playoff debut Sunday as the Indiana Fever played at Connecticut.

And despite it being on an NFL Sunday, selected as the featured game on an over-the-air channel (ABC), it delivered once again.

The game averaged 1.8 million viewers, according to Nielsen, easily more than the other three games on ESPN combined.

Again, despite it being a 93-69 blowout and up against the NFL, which recorded 93 of the top 100 most-viewed broadcasts in the United States in 2023.

The 1.8 million viewers represented an increase of 332% compared to the ABC first-round game one year ago. And as a group, the four games are up 89% year-over-year with Clark’s game paving the way.

Also, just imagine if her shots were falling. Then it truly becomes must-watch TV.

However, Clark was kept to 11 points on 4-of-17 shooting.

“When I went back and looked and we even talked about it, she said I just missed some really wide-open shots,” head coach Christie Sides said on Tuesday. “And players are gonna have those kind of nights, right? But give Connecticut credit, they made it really difficult on us.”

According to @SportsTVRatings, the Fever game had a larger audience than the other three games that day combined.

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

That’s roughly 1,274,000 for three games while Fever-Sun drew 1,840,000.

And that’s on top of a sellout crowd of 8,910 at Mohegan Sun Arena.

“Man, that’s dope,” said Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell.

I asked her if she’s been hearing from random family and friends throughout this record-setting season.

“It’s a lot of second-cousins and distant aunts that are in Memphis,” she said with a big smile. “And my mom is from Tennessee and so I run into a lot of like older family members. I’m like, dang. It’s hilarious. But you appreciate the love, man. I think it’s just part of the process.”

Sun coach Stephanie White has worked in TV, in addition to coaching, for more than a decade. So she understands both sides of it better than any head coach in the WNBA.

You see White, an Indiana native, on ESPN and Big Ten Network. And for NBA, men’s and women’s college basketball games.

“I think it’s incredible, certainly the growth of our game and where this league is,” said White. “The fact that I’m not sure how many years ago we would have been talking about those kind of numbers on an NFL Sunday. It’s incredible. But again, those of us who have been around, it’s about time, right? (When) you put it in a time frame and on a channel, and people can find it and they’re not having to search for it, they’re gonna watch.

“It’s the first year that I felt like the college fan has carried over to the W. Usually there had been a fine line there. And so that certainly helps too, the influx of those fans. But it’s the natural progression that we have felt all along, but it’s exciting for sure.”

Shout-out to those Iowa, Big Ten, and Clark fans as a whole.

The Indiana Fever, thanks to Clark, helped each of their broadcast partners (ABC, ESPN, ION) record their most-viewed WNBA game ever and they easily had the highest attendance at both home and away games. Almost 650,000 — and 200,000 more than the next team, the New York Liberty, who finished with the best record.

If Clark’s playing and it’s airing on a national network, it’ll inevitable draw more than one million viewers. Half that would be deemed a huge success before her arrival.

And here’s perspective from the other side, from an opponent.

“That’s kind of been the feel of the whole season and it’s been exciting to be able to be a part of it,” said Sun guard DiJonai Carrington. “You can feel it, whether it’s in the atmosphere, in the arena, or it’s walking through the casino, whether it’s just scrolling on social media, you can see that everyone’s tuned in. And that’s always cool to see and see the growth of this game.”

Game 2 of Fever at Sun airs at 7:30 p.m. ET Wednesday on ESPN.