Caitlin Clark Leads WNBA to Record Viewership in 2026

The WNBA announced on Wednesday that it achieved record-setting viewership during the 2026 season. Among the highlights, every major network featuring WNBA games, including ABC, CBS, ESPN, ION, NBC, Peacock, USA Network, and Amazon Prime Video, reported their highest regular-season audiences with Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever participating.

Clark's presence significantly impacted WNBA ratings, with games involving the Fever attracting an average of twice the viewership of the two semifinal openers. The league's statistics indicated that all seven airing platforms experienced their largest audiences when the Fever played.

The top games included:

- NBC and Peacock: Indiana vs. Chicago on August 23, averaging 3.31 million viewers, marking the largest audience since the league's inaugural weekend in 1997.

- ESPN: Indiana vs. Atlanta on August 16, drawing approximately 2.6 million viewers, a record for cable television.

- CBS: Indiana vs. New York on July 18, with 2.58 million viewers, the network's most-watched WNBA game to date.

- ABC: Indiana vs. Chicago on August 8, averaging 2.56 million viewers.

- ION: Indiana vs. Dallas on August 14, attracting 1.62 million viewers, the network’s highest WNBA audience.

- USA Network: Indiana vs. Golden State on July 15, with 1.14 million viewers.

- Prime Video: Indiana vs. Dallas on August 20, averaging 1.07 million viewers.

Additionally, a July 12 match against Las Vegas yielded 2.64 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, becoming the second-most-watched regular-season game. The Disney-owned networks, ESPN and ABC, hosted five games that surpassed two million viewers, all featuring the Fever.

The WNBA also noted overall viewer growth this season, with 51 regular-season broadcasts averaging over one million viewers, up from 19 the previous year. Non-Fever games on ESPN and ABC saw an average viewership of 984,000, an increase of 24% from last year.

Caitlin Clark’s impact appears pivotal in attracting new viewers to the league, as WNBA regular-season games averaged 440,000 viewers in 2023 before Clark joined. In her rookie season, the average surged to 1.2 million, a 170% increase.

Although the Fever's season has concluded, the WNBA continues to leverage its successful broadcast figures, underscoring Clark's influence on the league's viewership trends.