Caitlin Clark’s transformational impact on the WNBA is beyond discussion.
However, fans of the league have been in the midst of a debate online about the extent of her influence and whether the WNBA relies on Caitlin Clark to bring in viewers and attendance.
Clark is preparing for her second season for the Indiana Fever following a stellar debut season that saw her break the assists record and win Rookie of the Year.
The 23-year-old helped drive the WNBA to it’s most watched regular season in 24 years and its highest attendance in 20 years.
A total of 31 WNBA matches last season averaged over one million viewers and 22 of them involved Clark, with almost every fixture she played in broadcast on national television.
In more detail, Clark’s regular-season games were watched by 1.2 million viewers on average, which was 200 per cent more than games in which she didn’t play, a statistic that is not too shocking given her status.
As across American sports when a superstar like Clark plays in a game, more people want to watch it, whether from home or at the arena.
Also Clark’s Indiana Fever had an average regular season attendance of 17,306, a 320 per cent rise from 2023.
That attendance average is 5,000 more than the next team, the New York Liberty, and double Angel Reese’s team, the Chicago Sky, average of 8,500.
Ryan Brewer, a professor at Indiana University Columbus who described Clark’s influence as staggering, did analysis on her impact which revealed that she is responsible for 26.5% of WNBA economic activity for the 2024 season.
This includes attendance, merchandise sales and television. One of every six tickets sold at a WNBA arena can be attributed to Clark.
Furthermore, the study shows that total WNBA TV viewership is up 3005 due to Clark, and 45 per cent of total broadcast value came from Fever games.
However, such statistics have sparked debate online because it demonstrates a drop-off in attendance and viewership when Clark is not playing.
“That’s actually not good cuz it means y’all only really watching her and not the show they teams,” one fan posted on X
“Let’s take Caitlin Clark out of the WNBA for a sec, where would Angel Reese be without you can’t see me?” another added online.
Referring to the infamous moment between Clark and Reese at their LSU v Iowa championship game in NCAA final in 2023, where the Chicago player gestured at Clark in a moment that would go viral.
“If Caitlin didn’t exist none of this big explosion would’ve happened in the WNBA,” one fan also wrote.
“According to everyone else we should be thanking the rest of the rookie class as well. WRONG… they don’t change the game like CC does,” another fan posted.
Ultimately, while Clark matches are better attended and watched, every single WNBA team has enjoyed staggering growth over the last 18 months.
Highlighting a general uptick in the interest of women’s basketball.