The ESPN presentation of the Indiana Fever preseason game against the Brazilian National Team averaged 1.3 million viewers on Sunday, according to data from Nielsen Media Research. This preseason game is up 13% from the WNBA regular-season average viewership on ESPN last season and peaked with a total of 1.6 million viewers. The matchup featured the return of star guard Caitlin Clark to Carver-Hawkeye Arena at the University of Iowa, the venue where she broke the NCAA Division I all-time scoring record. During the game, Clark hit a long three-point shot from beyond that location, which is marked on the court with her number.
Flora Kelly, the vice president of research at ESPN, divulged that two of the 57 ESPN NBA preseason games that have aired since 2010 elicited a higher audience than the Fever game over the weekend. Both matchups featured LeBron James and followed key developments with his teams – the Cavaliers losing the Finals in 2016 and James joining the Lakers on a four-year contract following the 2016-17 season. Clark ended up scoring 16 points in under 19 minutes of playing time and received an ovation as she came back to Iowa City in front of a crowd with an average price of $440, according to data from Victory Live cited by Richard Deitsch of The Athletic.
This news occurs as all WNBA preseason games are being nationally televised for the first time, which will then lead into a regular-season slate where the Fever will be in the spotlight. In fact, the team has the most nationally televised or streamed games currently on the schedule across its broadcast partners of ESPN, ABC, ION, Amazon’s Prime Video and CBS. As it pertains to The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC), the Fever will be part of an Opening Night doubleheader as the team takes on the Chicago Sky. Clark and the Fever will also face the New York Liberty twice on Disney platforms and square off against No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings in mid July.
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