Stephen A. Smith Gets Real On Viewership Drop After Caitlin Clark's Exit

Since her draft day, Caitlin Clark, the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, has been directly involved in increasing the league’s visibility and popularity. However, following the Indiana Fever and Clark’s playoffs exit against the Connecticut Sun on September 25, the WNBA has seen a massive drop in viewership. Sports analyst Stephen A. Smith recently reminded the league of the 22-year-old rookie’s impact.

On a recent episode of “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” Smith discussed the massive viewership recorded during the Conference Finals between the Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty. However, he also noted a huge difference between the Aces-Liberty Game 1 and the Fever’s Game 1 against the Sun.
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The ESPN analyst said, “Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever now eliminated. Game 1 of the Aces-Liberty matchup on Sunday drew an average of 929,000 viewers. It’s a good number for the WNBA on an NFL Sunday. However, that was down nearly 50% from last Sunday’s Fever-Sun contest. By the way, not only was viewership down, but attendance was as well.”

He added, “Do you want me to just say I told you so, or are you willing to say Stephen A. you did tell us? Really? Caitlin Clark is the golden goose.”

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With her spectacular performances, Clark earned the respect of NBA great LeBron James. According to Smith, Clark’s exit affected online viewership and game attendance. The 56-year-old mentioned the Fever rookie’s achievements this season, validating her huge audience.

He said, “Rookie of the year, fourth in the league for MVP voting, assist leader, one of the top leading scorers after the Olympic Games. She put on a show validating all the attention she was receiving.”

This season, the WNBA Draft and All-Star Game were the most-watched in the league’s history, while 22 regular-season games averaged over 1 million viewers. A total of 24 games surpassed a million viewers, and Clark played every game except three, according to Sports Media Watch. With a strong performance in the rookie season, the 2024 WNBA assists leader has the potential to achieve greatness in the coming years.