If there was any question whether the WNBA can maintain its momentum sans-Caitlin Clark, Tuesday’s playoff viewership may provide an answer.
Tuesday’s Storm-Aces first round WNBA playoff Game 2 averaged a 0.59 rating and 988,000 viewers on ESPN, trailing only Sunday’s Fever-Sun Game 1 on ABC (1.84M) as the most-watched WNBA playoff game since 2003. Las Vegas’ series-clinching win delivered the largest playoff audience on cable since the deciding Game 3 of the 1999 Sparks-Comets Western Conference Finals (1.05M).
Last year’s most-watched playoff game, the clinching Game 4 of the Aces-Liberty WNBA Finals, averaged 889,000 viewers. Last year’s most-watched opening round game, Mystics-Liberty Game 2, averaged 501,000. Compared to the same Tuesday night window in last year’s first round — Dream-Wings Game 2 — ratings rose 113% and viewership 117% from a 0.28 and 456,000.
Over 15 seasons from 2009-23, the largest WNBA audience was 913,000 viewers for the deciding Sparks-Lynx Game 5 in the 2017 WNBA Finals. Aces-Storm was the 26th game this season to surpass that mark (and 27th telecast including the WNBA Draft), and the fifth to do so without featuring or following Caitlin Clark. (Keep in mind the standard caveat re: out-of-home viewing, which was not included in Nielsen estimates until 2020.)
Earlier in the night, Dream-Liberty Game 2 averaged a 0.52 and 863,000 — up 75% and 72% respectively from last year’s aforementioned Mystics-Liberty game (0.30, 501K).
With Clark and her Indiana Fever facing elimination Wednesday night, the Tuesday performance is a strong indication that the WNBA will continue to draw outsized numbers in her absence. The next round will feature a WNBA Finals rematch between the Aces and Liberty that may well outdraw their championship series a year ago (though with one game set for ESPNU that is far from a guarantee).
(Nielsen estimates via Programming Insider 9.25)
