Overview

• The league averaged 969,000 viewers across ABC, ESPN, CBS and ION, up 3% from 2024 and the best since 1998, according to Nielsen-reported figures.
• ESPN/ABC’s 25-game slate averaged 1.3 million viewers, a 6% rise, with the Fever–Sky opener drawing 2.7 million for the season’s top telecast.
• CBS delivered roughly 1.28 million viewers on average with double-digit growth, while ION fell to 627,000, down 6% as Caitlin Clark missed seven of its eight Fever games.
• ION’s non-Fever windows rose about 15% year over year, and NBA TV’s WNBA games climbed 16% to a 283,000 average, pointing to broader gains beyond one team.
• Clark appeared in only 13 of Indiana’s 45 total games, yet the four most-watched broadcasts featured her, underscoring both her draw and the league’s wider audience expansion.