Clark-Bueckers matchup averages 2.49M, 2nd most-watched WNBA regular-season game on ABC or ESPN
NEW YORK (AP) — The matchup between Indiana's Caitlin Clark and Dallas' Paige Bueckers on the WNBA's opening weekend averaged 2. 49 million viewers on ABC, making it the league's second-most watched regular-season game on ABC or ESPN. Dallas' 107-104 victory was also the 14th most-viewed sports event of the past week, according to numbers released Wednesday by Nielsen's Big Data + Panel.
The top 12 sports programs were NBA playoff games. Saturday’s game featured the last four No. 1 picks in the WNBA draft: Aliyah Boston and Clark of the Fever, and Bueckers and Azzi Fudd of the Wings.
It was Clark’s first regular-season game since last July. It didn’t top the 2. 7 million viewers who watched the season opener last year between Clark’s Fever and Angel Reese’s Chicago Sky.
The top three most-viewed WNBA games on ESPN or ABC all featured Clark. A 2024 playoff game between the Fever and Connecticut Sun averaged 2. 54 million.
The second game of the doubleheader — a rematch of last season’s final between Las Vegas and Phoenix — drew 1. 15 million viewers. The doubleheader averaged 1.