From Sports Media Watch, a one-stop page for all sports ratings news.
Jon Lewis
Regional WNBA action featuring Mystics-Fever in most markets averaged 1.04 million viewers on ION last Friday night, marking the fourth-largest audience of the season on the network. Viewership declined 15% from coverage featuring Mercury-Fever — and a healthy Caitlin Clark on the same night last year (1.22M).
The Fever have played in each of the top four ION games this season, with Clark missing three of those four — Friday’s game and Fever-Wings on August 1 and June 27 (both 1.14M). Clark’s lone appearance on ION ranks as the network’s top game this season, as 1.46 million watched the Fever host Atlanta on July 11.
Later in the night, Aces-Mercury averaged 517,000 — up 7% from Sun-Wings a year ago (485K). ION is averaging 622,000 viewers for WNBA games so far this season, down 3% from the same point last year 640K).
Source: Scripps
Jon Lewis
Friday’s Dream-Fever WNBA regular season game averaged 1.5 million viewers on ION, marking the network’s largest audience of the season and its second-largest WNBA audience overall. It was the first ION game this season for Fever G Caitlin Clark.
Friday’s audience, which peaked with 1.8 million in the 9:15 PM ET quarter-hour, surpassed all other sporting events from last Monday through last Friday.
In the nightcap, Sun-Storm averaged 470,000 viewers. ION is now averaging 595,000 for the season, up 12% from the same point last year (529K).
Source: Scripps
Jon Lewis
Despite the absence of Caitlin Clark, last Friday’s Fever-Wings WNBA regular season game averaged 1.14 million viewers on ION — the network’s most-watched game of the season and seventh-most watched since acquiing rights.
Indiana’s win, which peaked with 1.5 million in the 9:30 PM ET quarter-hour, trails only six game windows last season — all of which featured Clark.
In the nightcap, Liberty-Mercury averaged 610,000.
WNBA games on ION are now averaging 541,000 viewers for the season, on par with last year (540K), despite Clark having played in none of the network’s game windows.
Source: Scripps
Jon Lewis
Regional WNBA action featuring Sun-Fever in most markets averaged 851,000 viewers on ION Friday night, marking the network’s largest audience of the young season and a 119% increase over the comparable window last year (389K). The game — which peaked with 1.1 million in the 9:30 PM ET quarter-hour — delivered the largest audience ever on ION for a game that did not involve Caitlin Clark.
In the late window, coverage featuring Sparks-Aces averaged 459,000 — up 25% from a year ago (Mercury-Lynx: 368K).
ION is now averaging 555,000 for the WNBA season, up 39% from the comparable point last year.
Source: Scripps
Jon Lewis
Friday’s Sun-Lynx and Storm-Mercury WNBA regular season games averaged 431,000 and 344,000 viewers respectively on ION, both down sharply from last year’s lone window, Fever-Sparks (724K).
Source: Scripps
Jon Lewis
Friday’s WNBA Opening Night doubleheader averaged 612,000 viewers on ION, more-than-doubling 277,000 on the comparable night last year (which was not Opening Night).
In the early window, regional coverage that included Lynx-Wings — Paige Bueckers’ WNBA debut — averaged 639,000 viewers. The late window, pitting the Sparks against the expansion Valkyries in their inaugural game, averaged 581,000.
Outside of games involving Caitlin Clark and the Fever, those are the second and third-largest WNBA audiences ever on ION
Last year’s comparable ION windows were Mystics-Sun and Storm-Lynx.
Source: Scripps
Jon Lewis
Friday’s Wings-Aces WNBA preseason game, which marked the debut of #1 pick Paige Bueckers, averaged 406,000 viewers on ION — up 40% from the network’s regular season debut last year (290K). Later in the night, the Chicago Sky against the Brazilian national team averaged 305,000 (+15%).
As previously noted, the Fever’s matchup with the Brazilian national team on Sunday — which marked Caitlin Clark’s return to Iowa — averaged 1.3 million on ESPN. For more on the WNBA numbers, see this article.
Source: ION
Leave a Reply