The conversation around Caitlin Clark and her impact on women’s sports has always been a weird one.
The Indiana Fever superstar has been co-opted by various groups to prove whatever point they’d like to make about women’s sports, the WNBA, white female athletes, and many other things. She’s become an avatar for ugly, divisive opinions she hasn’t shown any personal affinity for.
So, in some ways, Clark being compared to recreational drugs is rather quaint by comparison.
Susie Piotrkowski, ESPN’s VP of women’s sports programming and espnW, spoke at a Front Office Sports event in Nashville last week and discussed how the company sees Clark as a “gateway drug” to bring new fans into women’s sports overall.
“I say this in quite literally the most positive way possible: Caitlin’s a gateway drug for some people to women’s sports,” said Piotrkowski. “If that brought you in, I’m going to keep you here. And I’m not going to make you feel silly if you don’t get it, or you still think, ‘Oh, so is that rating because of the Caitlin Clark effect?’ Well, she’s been out of college basketball for a long time. I’m going to tell you why it is more than that. And that’s okay if you’ve come by way of her, now I’m going to tell you why it’s necessary for you to stay here.”
Piotrkowski noted that, despite Clark missing a large chunk of last year’s WNBA season, ESPN still had its most-watched WNBA season and playoffs in company history. ABC and ESPN saw a 6% increase versus 2024, averaging 1.3 million viewers across 25 games, up from 1.19 million viewers last season. ABC’s opening game, a Sky-Fever game that featured Clark, set a network record with 2.7 million viewers. ESPN also secured eight of the 10 most-watched WNBA contests this season. WNBA Countdown, the network’s studio show covering the league, saw an increase of 7% versus last season as well.
The ESPN exec added that there’s no denying the Caitlin Clark Effect and how WNBA games involving her will always outperform others; there has been undeniable growth across the league.
“I think every single one of us can say what Caitlin has done for our business is incomparable,” Piotorkowski added. “However, people are coming because the product is excellent. And they are not leaving.”
All of which goes a long way toward explaining why ESPN’s new Women’s Sports Sunday primetime programming is a no-brainer for the company.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.