Caitlin Clark keeps delivering record WNBA viewership as Fever top 1 million viewers yet again
Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever’s July 15 game against the Golden State Valkyries averaged 1.14 million viewers, according to USA Sports PR.
It was the most-watched WNBA game in USA Sports’ WNBA history, beating the record that Clark and the Fever set... one week earlier.
In fact, this is the third time that Clark and the Fever averaged at least one million viewers on USA Sports, starting with their June 16 game against the Toronto Tempo. That was the USA Sports record until the team broke it on July 8.
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The July 8 game against the Los Angeles Sparks was particularly impressive because it averaged 1.04 million viewers across USA Network and CNBC despite tipping off at 10 p.m. ET on a Wednesday. It became the first WNBA game with a 10 p.m. ET start to reach one million viewers.
Apparently, that record wasn’t good enough.
The Fever-Valkyries audience was up 172% compared to the 2025 WNBA cable average. USA Sports also said it was the second-most-watched WNBA game on cable or streaming this season and the top cable entertainment program of the night.
The only WNBA game on cable or streaming to draw more viewers this season was another Fever game. Indiana’s July 5 matchup against the Las Vegas Aces averaged 1.55 million viewers on ESPN, even though neither Clark nor A’ja Wilson played.
That number has been used by some as evidence that the Fever’s television appeal has moved beyond Clark.
It has, to a degree. But it didn’t happen by accident.
The Fever can draw viewers without Clark now because Clark turned them into a national television team in the first place. Indiana wasn’t producing seven-figure cable audiences before she arrived. Not even close.
The attention Clark draws is still tied to production, not just her presence. The WNBA named Clark Eastern Conference Player of the Week after she averaged 25.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 7.7 assists.
That stretch included a 45-point, 10-assist performance in a win over the Seattle Storm, making Clark the first player in WNBA history with at least 40 points and 10 assists in a game.
And Clark was very much on the court for the WNBA’s biggest television number of the season.
Three days before the Golden State game, the Fever’s 109-75 victory over the Aces averaged 2.64 million viewers across NBC and Peacock. The audience peaked at 2.8 million and made it the most-watched WNBA game of 2026. It was also the league’s most-watched regular-season Sunday game since 1998 and its second-most-watched regular-season game since 2000.
NBC/Peacock and USA Network don't have the same reach, so the two audiences are not directly comparable. But they don't need to be.
The Fever delivered the WNBA’s biggest overall audience of the season on Sunday. Three nights later, they broke the USA Sports record.
The Golden State game wasn’t especially memorable for Indiana, either.
The Fever lost, 88-75, while Clark finished with 13 points on 4-of-14 shooting and committed four turnovers. She also played through a leg contusion suffered during the game.
More than 1.1 million people watched anyway.
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Before Clark entered the league, the WNBA had gone nearly 16 years without a game averaging one million viewers.
USA Sports just waited seven days for Clark to draw one million viewers for the third time this season on its network.
It will get another chance soon. The Fever host the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday on USA Network, giving Clark and Indiana a chance to break the network's WNBA record for the third straight week.