WNBA ratings without Caitlin Clark tank: What does it mean for the league's finances?

Caitlin Clark is one of the most popular players the WNBA has ever seen. The Indiana Fever superstar has helped the league break viewership records since she entered the league back in 2024. However, a quad injury has sidelined her since April 24, leaving the league without one of its biggest attractions. Even though she been out for less than two weeks, the league's ratings have taken a hit.

When she joined the league, Clark brought millions of viewers with her. She broke into the national spotlight at Iowa, and fans continued to follow her as she transitioned into the WNBA. The league understood how popular the guard is amongst fans and made the most of it. The Fever were near the top of the league in nationally televised games in 2024, helping the WNBA ratings soar.

Even without Clark on the floor, the Fever's game against the Connecticut Sun had 851,000 viewers, the top mark of the season. However, the average viewership for the season so far is 555,000. It is a good number, but not nearly the same as the 670,000 viewers the WNBA averaged last season.

Caitlin Clark's absence impacts ratings and revenue for the WNBA

Clark could return to the court as soon as June 10, but the Fever will exercise caution while bringing her back. Despite that, the league likely wants her to come back as soon as possible to recover their popularity. Indiana has more televised games than any other team in the league, but if the main attraction is not playing, fans are less likely to watch the game.

Clark's absence has a trickle-down effect on the rest of the WNBA. If she doesn't play, not as many people are inclined to watch her team's games. If fans don't watch the games on television, ratings go down. Similarly, fans are less likely to buy merchandise or tickets to games if they won't get to see the All-WNBA player in the game. All of that costs the league money.

The WNBA signed a new 11-year media rights agreement that is worth $2.2 billion. Having that long-term security is huge for a league so reliant on a handful of stars. There is talent around the league and the Fever guard is not the best player in the WNBA yet, but her popularity makes her extremely valuable.

The league enjoyed one of the best years of its existence in 2024 and was excited to build off that growth this season. Unfortunately, the fact that their success is tied so closely to one star player means that when she goes down, so does the league.

However, the WNBA has survived without Clark on the floor before and can do so again, albeit through implementing new strategies to balance the league's coverage.

What can the WNBA do to succeed without Caitlin Clark on the floor?

In an ideal world, the WNBA uses Clark's popularity to promote the game as a whole and the teams outside of the Fever. Indiana's games have proven that they can attract more than 1 million viewers, most of whom are tuning in to watch the young point guard play. However, the league has made a sincere effort to promote the Fever's opponent as much as Indiana.

The viewership that Clark generates will follow her around, no matter where or who she plays each night. The viewership for the other 12 teams in the WNBA is a bit more variable, though. However, if the league can promote stars like Breanna Stewart, A'ja Wilson and others into the spotlight that Clark has, they could cause fans to watch games every night, whether the Fever are playing or not.

This winter, women's basketball thrived without Clark anywhere near it. Stewart and Napheesa Collier founded Unrivaled, a 3v3 league that ran during the offseason. In its first season of existence, the league was a massive success, airing games that people around the country watched on national television.

Indiana's MVP candidate did not participate, but Unrivaled still had great ratings. The WNBA could take strategies that worked for the offseason league and implement them into their own marketing plans.

The Fever's star should be back on the court within the next two weeks. Her return is huge for the WNBA and should help their ratings recover. If they do, the league's revenue will go back to where it was at the beginning of the season.

However, her injury showed just how important she is to the league and what needs to be done in order to the rest of the WNBA to capitalize on the viewership she generates in each of her games.