The WNBA’s television partners are planning ahead for Caitlin Clark’s expected rookie season with the Indiana Fever.
The Fever — who hold the No. 1 pick in Monday’s 2024 WNBA Draft, which is likely to be Clark — will play 36 of their 40 regular-season games this season on national broadcasts. The slate includes two games on ABC, including May 18 against the New York Liberty, and two on CBS. Indiana’s season opener against the Connecticut Sun on May 14 will be televised on ESPN2.
Clark, whose Iowa career ended with Sunday’s loss to South Carolina in the national championship game, has helped create monumental gains in viewership in women’s college basketball. The Iowa-South Carolina game drew a record 18.9 million viewers, making it the most-watched basketball game (men’s or women’s, college or pro) since 2019, according to ESPN.
The Fever’s broadcast schedule is just the latest in a growing list of ways Clark, and the economy behind her, is set to shape the franchise (and the WNBA). It’s hard to overstate how much of a difference their schedule is from a season ago, when Indiana was much-improved and did feature star Aliyah Boston, who was the eventual unanimous Rookie of the Year.
Last season, the Fever played on ESPN only once, and they did not play on ABC or ESPN2. Indiana, instead, played eight of its 40 games exclusively on Fever Facebook.
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Indiana did not play on ESPN, ABC or ESPN2 in the 2022 season, and it played on ESPN2 just once in 2021. This year, the Fever will appear on one of those networks eight times, and play on a national broadcasting or streaming game in all but four of their contests.
Holding the rights to select Clark in Monday’s draft, Indiana has more national games than the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces and the 2023 WNBA Finals runner-up, Liberty. The Fever will play the most games of any team on NBA TV (13), followed by the Aces (10), Dallas Wings (8) and New York (7).
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How else will the broadcast schedule be different in 2024?
CBS Sports has doubled its WNBA package this season, after announcing a new multiyear agreement with the league. It will now present eight regular-season games per year on CBS beginning with the 2024 season, up from four last season. An additional 12 games will be televised on CBS Sports Network for the duration of the deal.
ION’s 43-game slate of broadcasts will be the most by any single network, with an emphasis on Friday night action. Prime Video will stream 18 of its 20 regular-season games on Thursday nights. NBA TV’s slate of 40 games is the second-most of any platform.
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(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
