Caitlin Clark shattered another TV viewership record as 2.45 million viewers tuned in to ESPN to see her selected as the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft Monday, Sportico reported.
The young athlete from the University of Iowa got drafted by the Indiana Fever, according to Sportico. This viewership crushed the previous record set 20 years ago when 601,000 viewers watched Diana Taurasi of UConn get drafted by the Phoenix Mercury.
The telecast’s audience was nearly five times the size of last year’s draft, which saw 512,000 viewers as Aliyah Boston of South Carolina went first to the Fever. Clark, who has scored a record 3,951 points in her NCAA career, had already featured in the three most-watched women’s basketball games ever. Her final game at Iowa, despite resulting in a loss to the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks, drew an impressive 18.7 million viewers to ABC for the national title game on April 7, the outlet stated.
The WNBA Draft number is in:
2.45M viewers—nearly 5x the year-ago number (512,000) and +307% vs the previous record in 2004 (Dana Taurasi, 601,000 viewers). pic.twitter.com/WmXVeYG6HJ
— Sportico (@Sportico) April 16, 2024
The Final Four game against UConn on April 5 attracted 14.2 million viewers, and the Elite Eight game against LSU saw 12.3 million viewers tune in. These games rank among the top 60 most-viewed broadcasts of the year, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Caitlin Clark Was One Big Economic Boom For Iowa City Economy)
This season, the Indiana Fever will have 36 of their 40 games broadcast nationwide across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, CBS and Amazon Prime Video. Among other top draft picks, Cameron Brink from Stanford was selected second by the Los Angeles Sparks, and Kamilla Cardoso from South Carolina went third to the Chicago Sky. LSU’s Angel Reese was chosen seventh by the Sky, highlighting a night of high expectations and top talent entering the pros, according to Sportico.
This season, 36 of the Indiana Fever’s 40 games will be broadcast nationally, including appearances on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, CBS, and Amazon Prime Video. In addition to Clark, other top picks of the night included Cameron Brink from Stanford, going second to the Los Angeles Sparks, and Kamilla Cardoso from South Carolina, picked third by the Chicago Sky. LSU’s Angel Reese also joined the ranks, picked seventh by the Chicago Sky, marking a night of high expectations and stellar talent stepping into the professional arena, Sportico stated.