After missing five games with a quad injury and generating a predictable news cycle around the viewership drop in her absence, Caitlin Clark is expected to return to the court Saturday at home against the New York Liberty.
It is a stroke of luck for ESPN and ABC, which will broadcast Saturday’s clash with the Liberty. The WNBA’s top broadcast partner did not miss any scheduled Clark/Fever games as it ramps up its coverage of the league this season.
Head coach Stephanie White confirmed Clark is due back for Saturday afternoon’s tilt against the reigning WNBA champions barring any regression to the quad.
Fans can catch ABC’s presentation of Liberty-Fever at 3 p.m. after a 1 p.m. national TV game between the Los Angeles Sparks and Minnesota Lynx on CBS.
Without Caitlin Clark, WNBA viewership indeed dropped significantly. It is still trending higher in the regular season than before Clark’s arrival in the league. And last weekend, a Clark-less Fever team traveled to the United Center in downtown Chicago and blew out the Sky in a game that still drew nearly 2 million viewers on CBS. It was the third-most watched game of the season.
The last time Indiana faced New York, the game drew 2.2 million viewers, the most-watched WNBA game ever on CBS.
We should expect ABC to draw monster numbers for Saturday’s rematch. The anticipation of Clark’s return combined with the elite opponent and the midday weekend time slot that the WNBA dominates during the summer all should combine for a huge viewership number.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.