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Fever–Dream Game Sets Cable Viewership Record for WNBA on ESPN

The spike highlights rising national interest in women’s sports, with Nielsen’s new measurement method complicating direct season‑to‑season comparisons.

Overview

  • Sunday’s Indiana FeverAtlanta Dream telecast averaged about 2.6 million viewers and peaked near 4 million, which ESPN called the largest WNBA audience ever on cable.
  • ESPN said its WNBA broadcasts are averaging 1.4 million viewers through 25 games, a 16 percent increase from the comparable point last season.
  • Many of this season’s biggest audiences have centered on Caitlin Clark and Fever appearances, concentrating TV attention and boosting ratings for marquee matchups.
  • Nielsen’s recent shift to a “Big Data + Panel” model and expanded out‑of‑home sampling make historical comparisons less direct and may raise reported totals.
  • The ratings surge could drive more national broadcast opportunities and attention to playoff seeding—Indiana and Atlanta currently sit on a possible first‑round collision course.