![\"Indiana](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/indiana-fever-v-chicago-sky-chicago-illinois-august-23-caitlin-clark-2-e1787769549741.jpg\")
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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – AUGUST 23: Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever celebrates a three pointer against the Chicago Sky during the first half at Wintrust Arena on August 23, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Caitlin Clark<\/a> and the Indiana Fever<\/a> did more than end a two-game losing streak Sunday night. They delivered a television audience the WNBA<\/a> had waited nearly three decades to see again.<\/p>\n Indiana\u2019s 113-90 victory over the Chicago Sky averaged 3.31 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, NBC Sports announced Wednesday in viewing figures provided to Heavy Sports.<\/p>\n The broadcast peaked at 3.82 million viewers and became the most-watched WNBA regular-season game since the opening weekend of the league\u2019s inaugural 1997 season. It ranks third among all regular-season WNBA broadcasts.<\/p>\n That made Clark\u2019s latest performance historic in two ways.<\/p>\n The Fever star finished with 37 points and 10 assists while making a career-high eight 3-pointers. Kelsey Mitchell added 30 points, giving Indiana\u2019s backcourt 67 combined points on a night when millions were watching.<\/p>\n \u201cC and Kelz, my God,\u201d Fever coach Stephanie White said<\/a> during her postgame locker-room address. \u201cGoodness gracious. That was just some incredible shot-making, some incredible playmaking.\u201d<\/p>\n White then summarized the view from Indiana\u2019s sideline: \u201cSometimes, we\u2019re just over there standing on the sidelines like, \u2018Holy [expletive].\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Fever-Sky Audience Ends 29-Year Wait<\/p>\n Only two regular-season WNBA games have attracted larger audiences, according to NBC Sports.<\/p>\n The New York Liberty\u2019s meeting with the Los Angeles Sparks averaged 5.04 million viewers on June 21, 1997. Charlotte\u2019s game against Phoenix drew 3.59 million the following day.<\/p>\n The league played 6,440 regular-season games between that Charlotte-Phoenix broadcast and Sunday\u2019s Fever-Sky matchup.<\/p>\n Indiana-Chicago was also only the second Sunday primetime WNBA regular-season game shown on a broadcast network. The first came July 12, when Indiana faced the defending champion Las Vegas Aces and drew 2.64 million viewers on NBC and Peacock.<\/p>\n That remains the season\u2019s second-largest audience, giving the Fever the top two WNBA broadcasts of 2026.<\/p>\n Clark\u2019s longstanding connection to Angel Reese helped transform Fever-Sky into appointment viewing when both entered the league in 2024. Reese now plays for the Atlanta Dream after Chicago traded her for two first-round picks, but the rivalry\u2019s imprint on the matchup remains unmistakable.<\/p>\n The latest ratings also underline that Indiana\u2019s appeal extends beyond any one opponent.<\/p>\n Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell Deliver a Show<\/p>\n The Fever gave the enormous audience a performance worthy of the stage.<\/p>\n Playing without injured center Aliyah Boston, Indiana trailed 51-50 at halftime before Clark and Mitchell took control. They combined for 14 of the Fever\u2019s franchise-record 18 3-pointers.<\/p>\n \u201cI think C does a good job of finding ways to get Kelsey involved,\u201d White told reporters. \u201cKelsey\u2019s one of those that sneaks up on you sometimes. You look at the end of the game, and it\u2019s like, \u2018Holy [expletive], she had 30.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Indiana improved to 25-14 and completed a season sweep of Chicago despite playing its third game in four nights. The victory also closed a demanding five-game trip with a 3-2 record.<\/p>\n NBC Sports is averaging 1.75 million viewers through seven WNBA games this season, a 35% increase from comparable coverage last year. This is the network\u2019s first season carrying the league since 2002.<\/p>\n The growth belongs to a deeper WNBA talent pool, greater broadcast access and more compelling teams. But Sunday supplied another clear piece of evidence about the force at the center of the surge.<\/p>\n Put Clark in primetime, and viewers continue to arrive in numbers the league has rarely seen.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAlder Almo<\/a> is a veteran NBA reporter for Heavy.com, covering the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors. He brings over 20 years of experience across local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Originally from the Philippines, he is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – AUGUST 23: Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever celebrates a three pointer against…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":872555,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,82,630],"class_list":["post-872554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=872554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872554\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/872555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=872554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=872554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=872554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}