Fever vs Wings ranks among ABC's most-watched WNBA games ever
According to ESPN, the matchup drew an average of 2.1 million viewers, with a peak audience of 2.5 million, representing a 69% increase vs. last year's WNBA on ABC regular-season average.
The staggeringly high viewership number for Sunday's matchup between the Fever and Wings ranks it as the fourth-most-watched WNBA game ever to air on ABC, which has broadcast over 120 regular-season and playoff games.
To nobody's surprise, the historic ABC viewership numbers for the matchup were primarily driven by the long-awaited clash between Indiana guard Caitlin Clark and Dallas guard Paige Bueckers.
As Clark's most recent injury absence included the June 27 meeting between the two clubs, Sunday's matchup was the first time both iconic players had competed against each other on the WNBA stage.
The two faced one another twice in their college basketball careers, with Bueckers' UCONN Huskies defeating Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes in the 2021 Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Clark and the Hawkeyes would return the favor with a victory in the 2024 Final Four.
While Clark's historic season last year secured her the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year, Bueckers' impressive 2025 campaign so far has her firmly in the driver's seat to win the award at the end of this season.
The news on Tuesday now only adds to the astounding viewership draw Clark possesses as Indiana now has the most-watched, third-most-watched, and fourth-most-watched WNBA game ever to be broadcast on ABC.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews.
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