The WNBA’s television partners are planning Caitlin Clark’s anticipated rookie season with the Indiana Fever.
The Fever — who owns the top pick in Monday’s 2024 WNBA Draft, which will likely be Clark — will play 36 of its 40 regular-season games this season on national broadcasts. The slate includes two games on ABC, including May 18 against the New York Liberty, and two on CBS. Indiana’s season opener against the Connecticut Sun on May 14 will be televised on ESPN2.
Clark, whose Iowa career ended with Sunday’s loss to South Carolina in the national championship game, helped create monumental viewership gains in women’s college basketball. The Iowa-South Carolina game attracted a record 18.9 million viewers, making it the most-watched basketball game (men’s or women’s, college or professional) since 2019, according to ESPN.
The Fever’s broadcast schedule is just the latest in a growing list of ways Clark, and the economy that supports her, are poised to shape the franchise (and the WNBA). It’s hard to overstate how different their schedule is from a season ago, when Indiana was much improved and featured star Aliyah Boston, who was ultimately the unanimous Rookie of the Year.
Last season, the Fever only played once on ESPN, and they didn’t play on ABC or ESPN2. Indiana, by contrast, played eight of its 40 games exclusively on Fever Facebook.
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Indiana did not play on ESPN, ABC, or ESPN2 during the 2022 season, and has only played on ESPN2 once in 2021. This year, Fever will appear eight times on one of those networks and will play on a national broadcast or game stream in all but four of their contests.
Holding the right to select Clark in Monday’s draft, Indiana has more national games than the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces and 2023 WNBA Finals runner-up Liberty. The Fever will play the most games of any team on NBA TV (13), followed by the Aces (10), Dallas Wings (8) and New York (7).
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CBS Sports doubled its WNBA package this season, after announcing a new multi-year agreement with the league. It will now present eight regular season games per year on CBS starting with the 2024 season, up from four last season. Twelve additional games will be televised on CBS Sports Network over the life of the agreement.
ION’s slate of 43 match broadcasts will be the largest of any network, with a focus on Friday night action. Prime Video will broadcast 18 of its 20 regular season games on Thursday night. NBA TV’s 40-game slate is the second largest among all platforms.
The complete Fever program
Date | Time (ET) | Opponent | Network |
---|---|---|---|
May 14 |
7:30 p.m. |
in Connecticut |
ESPN2 |
May 16 |
7 p.m. |
against New York |
Main video |
May 18 |
13 hours |
At New York |
ABC |
May 20 |
7 p.m. |
against Connecticut |
ESPN |
May 22 |
10:00 p.m. |
in Seattle |
|
May 24 |
10:00 p.m. |
in Los Angeles |
ION |
May 25 |
21 hours |
in Las Vegas |
NBA Television |
May 28 |
7 p.m. |
against Los Angeles |
NBA Television |
May 30 |
7 p.m. |
against Seattle |
Main video |
June 1 |
13 hours |
against Chicago |
NBA Television |
June 2 |
7 p.m. |
At New York |
NBA Television |
June 7 |
7:30 p.m. |
in Washington |
ION |
June 10 |
7 p.m. |
in Connecticut |
NBA Television |
June 13 |
7 p.m. |
against Atlanta |
|
June 16 |
noon |
against Chicago |
CBS |
June 19 |
7 p.m. |
against Washington |
NBA Television |
June 21st |
7:30 p.m. |
and Atlanta |
ION |
June 23 |
6 p.m. |
in Chicago |
NBA Television |
June 27 |
10:00 p.m. |
in Seattle |
Main video |
June 30th |
3 p.m. |
in Phoenix |
ESPN |
July 2nd |
9:30 p.m. |
in Las Vegas |
ESPN |
July 6 |
13 hours |
against New York |
CBS |
July 10 |
noon |
against Washington |
NBA Television |
July 12 |
7:30 p.m. |
against Phoenix |
ION |
July 14th |
4 p.m. |
in Minnesota |
ESPN |
July 17 |
7:30 p.m. |
in Dallas |
ESPN |
August 16 |
7:30 p.m. |
against Phoenix |
ION |
August 18 |
3:30 p.m. |
against Seattle |
ABC |
August 24 |
8 p.m. |
in Minnesota |
NBA Television |
August 26 |
7:30 p.m. |
and Atlanta |
NBA Television |
August 28 |
7 p.m. |
against Connecticut |
NBA Television |
August 30 |
7:30 p.m. |
in Chicago |
ION |
September 1st |
4 p.m. |
in Dallas |
NBA Television |
September 4 |
7 p.m. |
against Los Angeles |
CBS Sports Network |
September 6 |
7:30 p.m. |
against. Minnesota |
ION |
September 8 |
4 p.m. |
against Atlanta |
|
September 11th |
7 p.m. |
against Las Vegas |
NBA Television |
September 13 |
7:30 p.m. |
against Las Vegas |
ION |
September 15 |
3 p.m. |
against Dallas |
|
September 19 |
7 p.m. |
in Washington |
Main video |
Required reading
(Photo: Steph Chambers/Getty Images)