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…
