Caitlin Clark Boosts WNBA Draft to Historic Viewership Heights
The Caitlin Clark show hit a new high on TV ratings during ESPN's WNBA Draft broadcast, attracting an average of 2.45 million viewers.
The Caitlin Clark show hit a new high on TV ratings during ESPN's WNBA Draft broadcast last Monday night, attracting an average of 2.45 million viewers.
At its peak, viewership soared to 3.09 million, as per ESPN's update on Tuesday.
This turnout was over four times larger than last year's draft, which saw 572,000 viewers. The previous high was back in 2004, when Diana Taurasi from UConn was picked first, drawing 601,000 viewers.
Monday's broadcast marked the most-watched WNBA event since a 2000 Memorial Day game aired by NBC, where the New York Liberty faced off against the now-defunct Houston Comets, drawing an average of 2.74 million viewers.
Much of the spike in viewers this Monday can be credited to Caitlin Clark, a once-in-a-generation talent from Iowa, who has drawn legions of new fans to the sport.
Chosen first overall by the Indiana Fever, Clark was a central figure throughout the event.
Moreover, this year's NCAA Women's Championship game featuring Clark and Iowa against South Carolina broke records too, with the ESPN broadcast pulling in 18.7 million viewers.
