WNBA

How did the WNBA 2025 season audiences hold up in the absence of Caitlin Clark?

The Las Vegas Aces won the 2025 WNBA title, their third in four seasons, in a campaign with star player Clark absent for the bulk of the competition.

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - AUGUST 24: Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever wears a shirt honoring Maya Moore as she warms up before the game against the Minnesota Lynx at Target Center on August 24, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Moore's jersey will be retried by the Lynx after the game. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Stephen Maturen / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
STEPHEN MATUREN | AFP
Paul Reidy
Paul Reidytwitter
Irish native who switched from the music industry to the world of sport moving from Universal Music to AS in 2017. A keen runner, soccer player and now discovering the world's fastest growing sport of padel. A fútbol fanatic covering LaLiga, MLS, Liga MX and other offbeat stories from the global game. Can always be found rooting for the underdog.
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There was good news and bad for the WNBA this year with the negative coming in early September as Indiana Fever star player Caitlin Clark confirmed that she would miss the remainder of the campaign as she needed time to recover from a groin injury.

All in all, Clark only appeared in only 13 regular-season games and despite her absence, the Fever still reached the playoffs and made a run to the semifinals, but were ultimately eliminated with the 23-year-old supporting the team from the bench.

League survives without Clark

The good news for WNBA officials is that the league saw little drop-off in interest or audience despite the absence of the star player.

Despite Clark’s limited play, the WNBA’s regular season saw a year-over-year viewership increase on major networks like ABC and ESPN. This suggests continued growth for the league beyond any single player.

How did the WNBA 2025 season audiences hold up in the absence of Caitlin Clark?
CHRISTIAN PETERSEN

Postseason Viewership

The 2025 WNBA postseason averaged more viewers than the previous year, with a 5% increase.

The 2025 WNBA Finals were the second-most-watched Finals series on ESPN networks since 2003, slightly trailing the 2024 Finals. However, they averaged twice as many viewers as the 2023 Finals.

All-Star Game: The 2025 WNBA All-Star Game, which Clark was also sidelined for, saw a significant drop in ratings compared to the 2024 game, though it was still the second most-watched in WNBA history besides 2024.

While Clark’s presence remains a clear ratings booster for her team and any game she played in, the league as a whole managed to sustain and even grow its overall viewership and postseason numbers in her absence, indicating a broader, maturing interest in the WNBA.

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