With Caitlin Clark’s arrival at the Indiana Fever (13-15), the WNBA has exceeded its high expectations, achieving record-breaking ratings, merchandise sales, and consistent sold-out arenas. This year’s WNBA Draft, watched by 2.4 million viewers, set the stage for a historic season, with the All-Star game drawing 3.44 million viewers-a 305% increase from last year. Clark will look to help the Fever secure their first playoff appearance since 2016, but she will need her team to step up to make it happen because if victories were about fan support, the Fever would be in first place by far.

The impact of Clark attack

The Indiana Fever returned from the break with a 98-89 win over the Phoenix Mercury (15-13) on Friday, followed by a 92-75 win over the Seattle Storm(17-10) on Sunday. Those back-to-back victories by more than 10 points, something they hadn’t achieved all season, means Clark’s and Fever’s month-long break, which she hasn’t had since 2023, and the whole team has served him well for the remaining games. Besides the results, social media interactions for the Fever have skyrocketed, with a remarkable 159% year-over-year increase, placing the team as the league leader in social media interactions per post. This growth is particularly evident on TikTok, where interactions have surged by 306%.

The Fever’s website has also seen a dramatic rise in traffic, with a 220% year-over-year increase in visits. This surge is largely attributed to Clark’s popularity, as fans are eager to follow her journey in the WNBA. Merchandise sales have followed suit, with Clark’s jersey ranking among the top sellers in the league, further illustrating her star power. As the Fever continue their season, the “Caitlin Clark Effect” is expected to keep driving these numbers upward through the season and more in the playoffs.

Clark adds another rating record

Friday’s game, broadcasted on the ION Network, drew an average of 1.2 million viewers, according to Sports Media Watch. This was the second-highest viewership in ION’s WNBA history, surpassed only by another game featuring Caitlin Clark earlier this season. On Sunday, the Fever took on the Seattle Storm on ABC, and the results were impressive. The game averaged 2.2 million viewers, making it the fourth most-watched WNBA game in the past two decades.

Some other records for the Indiana Fever

The Fever lead the League in attendance for both home and away games.
Ten of the Fever game broadcasts so far this season have set network viewership records for WNBA games on ESPN, ION, CBS and NBA TV.
Indiana’s road game in Atlanta on June 21 was the most-viewed WNBA game ever on ION at nearly 1.2 million viewers.
On May 25, Indiana’s road game in Las Vegas was the most-viewed WNBA game ever on NBA TV, averaging 333,000 viewers.
The Fieldhouse concessions are also seeing increased popularity as over 300% more hot dogs and 98 more pounds of popcorn have been sold this season compared to this time last year.
Since April, the Fever has had over 800M video views on social media ranking them number one over any team in the WNBA, NBA, NFL, NHL, or MLB.