Rebecca Lobo gives reality check to Caitlin Clark and Fever detractors on viewership debate: "Fever games are in a class of their own" 

Much has been made of the latest viewership reports, with many devaluing Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever's astronomical effect on the WNBA's TV ratings. According to the latest scoop from Front Office Sports, while Clark and the Fever's games remain in a class of their own, other teams have also picked up pace.

Indiana, too, has seen growth despite Clark's absence, who will miss her 15th game on Friday when the Fever visit the Dallas Wings. According to FOS, total WNBA viewership is up 21% from last year at 794,000 viewers. Fever games are up 7% to 1.26 million viewers, and non-Fever games are up 37% to 549,000 viewers across all networks in 2025.

The growth with Clark on the sidelines has sparked the age-old debate on whether one person has altered the course of the WNBA's ratings. On Thursday, announcer Rebecca Lobo gave everyone a reality check after disclosing the viewership numbers of last year's finals rematch between the Lynx and Liberty, which took place on Wednesday.

Here's what Lobo wrote on X:

Rebecca Lobo

@RebeccaLobo

LINK

Last night’s presentation of the ‘24 @WNBA Finals rematch (Liberty at Lynx) was the 3rd most watched non-Indiana regular season game ever on ESPN. Averaged 788K, peaked at 1.1M

(It’s OK to acknowledge that Fever games are in a class of their own when it comes to TV ratings.)

Lobo clapped back at critics who refuse to appreciate what Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever have brought to the table for the WNBA. The Liberty and Lynx game peaked at 1.1 million viewers, but it still couldn't match the Fever, who have been topping the charts despite Clark's absence.

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Ratings saw a massive dip when Caitlin Clark missed time with her first injury this season

Caitlin Clark's injury issues have overshadowed the highly anticipated 2025 WNBA season not just for the Indiana Fever but the league, too. While the latest reports on viewership numbers indicate the growth is intact for everyone, even with her on the sidelines, the ratings were nearly not the same when Clark went down with a quad injury earlier this season.

Clark missed five games between May 24 and June 13, during which the WNBA's TV ratings dropped 55%. The Fever games averaged 1.8 million viewers with her active and 847,000 without her. In her comeback against the Liberty on June 14, the game averaged 2.2 million viewers with a peak of 2.8 million, making it the third most-watched game of all time on ABC.