“The Caitlin Clark Effect” is alive and well.
If you’re the WNBA, you know you had to start the season with a game between Caitlin Clark‘s Indiana Fever and Angel Reese‘s Chicago Sky; the television ratings in the past have been too glorious. And that’s exactly what the league did.
After all, we just mentioned “The Caitlin Clark Effect” and you also have the element of her rivalry with Reese. It was guaranteed numbers! Guaranteed CHA-CHING! (RELATED: Caitlin Clark Keeps It All The Way Politically Correct With Response To WNBA Investigation)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – SEPTEMBER 13: Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever celebrates a basket during the second half of a game against the Las Vegas Aces at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on September 13, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – MAY 17: Angel Reese #5 of the Chicago Sky and Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever meet at mid court prior to tipoff for the Fever’s home opener at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on May 17, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – MAY 17: Angel Reese #5 of the Chicago Sky takes a hard foul from Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever in the second half during the Fever’s home opener at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on May 17, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Yeah, say what you want about the Fever thrashing the Sky, 93-58. That didn’t stop people from tuning in. Per ESPN, who broadcasted the game, the Clark-Reese matchup brought in a whopping 2.5 million viewers, peaking at 3.1 million. The four-letter network says that the broadcast was the most-watched WNBA contest ever aired on ESPN.
Incredible! And to think this is the same league that we used to make fun of once upon a time …
Indiana Fever vs Chicago Sky averaged 2.7 million viewers and peaked at 3.1 million viewers 😳
The Caitlin Clark/Angel Reese rivalry is a ratings winner pic.twitter.com/dhUeM7AwUN
— OutKick (@Outkick) May 20, 2025
Now I might not be the biggest fan of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, but I’m quite intrigued by the impact they’ve had on the league. Even I watched a little bit of the game Saturday until I flipped it over to horse racing (it was Preakness weekend, I had to get that money).
At this point, though, I wanna see a boxing match between the two … somebody tell Adin Ross to set that up over at Brand Risk.
This article was originally published at dailycaller.com
