mind. But the news was just announced that WNBA TV ratings are down more than 50% since Caitlyn Clark’s injury. And it was also reported that the Indiana Fever television viewership is also down over 53%. Now, I know a lot of us were expecting some sort of dip since Caitlyn Clark has been out with injury, but I don’t think all of us were expecting the entire viewership of the entire WNBA.
The WNBA just learned the hard way that life without Caitlyn Clark is like Netflix without Wi-Fi, completely unwatchable and a total disaster. Playoff ratings drop faster than your phone battery on 1% at 2 a.m. And now the league is scrambling to figure out how to keep fans awake. Did viewers actually vanish into thin air, or did they just switch to pickle ball highlights instead? Stick around because this playoff mess is juicier than a reality TV reunion today.
Is there any chance that the WNBA that Kathy Angleberg saw some of the ratings that I’m about to show you now and said, “Hey, Indiana Fever, can you do us a favor? Can you do us a solid? Can you just tease a Kalin Clark return? Kind of boost these up a little bit. Can you just dangle a Kaitlin Clark return in front of the fans faces? Try to boost these ratings up a little bit.
” There was one matchup that this league can consistently rely on to produce massive viewership numbers. The WNBA wanted this season to be the moment, the big year, the breakthrough, the season where the league finally steps out of the shadows and proves it can hang with the big boys.
Instead, it feels like the entire league took one giant prep fall, faceplanted into a bucket of nacho cheese, and then tried to pretend it was part of the plan. A shocker. Imagine my surprise. Just imagine my surprise when Uncle KC found out that the WNBA is struggling to maintain their ratings without Caitlyn Clark.
To make matters worse, and this is something I have definitely noticed in the last three or four weeks, especially since the Allstar game, the WNBA seems to be struggling to maintain interest. Let’s just be honest here. This WNBA season has been a beautiful, catastrophic dumpster fire. If you were watching for the basketball, you got a mix of injuries, foul calls that look like they were made by referees with legally broken glasses, and a commissioner who seems to think player health is just a suggestion.
If you were watching for entertainment, you probably tuned out the moment Caitlyn Clark spent more time on the bench than on the court because apparently her ankles have been declared public property by defenders who treat her like a human crash test dummy. When I think about Caitlyn Clark, the operative word that comes to my mind is gratitude.
There’s an incredible level of gratitude that should be accorded to this young lady with what she did for this sport. How was the attendance for Team USA in the Olympics? What would it have been like if Caitlyn Clark was playing on that team? Remember the first game? Look at this right here. National broadcast viewership.
What are we talking about here? 1,00 what is that? 1.219. Is that the number? And the game afterwards got 485,000 views. So, the fever and their game against the Minnesota Links was 1.219 million on You know things are bad when the most exciting part of the season has been fans trying to figure out if the league is going to collapse before the playoffs finish.
Spoiler alert, it’s holding on by the thin piece of duct tape known as Please don’t notice how bad this is. WNBA’s black superstars should thank their lucky stars for the record ratings Caitlyn Clark is detonating even if new fans are mostly white fans. It doesn’t matter what color eyeballs are. But the other day I must admit it hit me like Katie Bell Henderson telling me that’s enough.
I told myself it’s not racist for me to like Caitlyn. And speaking of bad, how about those officiating calls? Oh yes, the referees this season look like they were pulled straight out of a mall food court during lunch rush. One of them is still chewing a slice of Sparrow pizza while deciding whether to call a flagrant foul.
Another looks like they thought they were hired to officiate a roller derby. The consistency is somewhere between Magic Eightball and fortune cookie. One game a shove is nothing. The next game someone sneezes too aggressively and they’re ejected. If the referees had their own player statline this year, it would read turnovers, zero bad calls every single possession.
The WNBA has a problem, and that problem is Caitlyn Clark not playing in WNBA games. Now, what all does this affect? The ratings are plummeting, guys. There’s a rate there’s ratings for a couple of these games that are eyepoppingly. Now, let’s get to the injuries because oh boy, the WNBA this year looks less like a basketball league and more like an orthopedic surgeon’s Christmas wish list.
Caitlyn Clark has spent more time recovering than playing. Mostly because defenders treat her like she owes them money. Every drive to the basket looks like a new episode of How Hard Can We Smash Caitlyn Before the Ref Notices? And the answer is harder than You Think. But Clark isn’t the only casualty of this basketball apocalypse.
You could practically hear the commissioner’s office sigh in relief. Oh, good. One less star player. We have to mark it properly. And if Sophie wasn’t enough, Angel Ree said, “You know what? I’m out.” She quit mid-season, which in most sports is considered shocking, but in the WNBA feels more like a commentary on the league itself.
Because let’s be real, if your commissioner can’t keep the league running smoothly, if the refs are auditioning for clown school, and if players are dropping like flies on a hot July afternoon, then why wouldn’t someone decide to bail? Reese probably figured she’d rather spend her time on Instagram than risk another game where she gets tackled like she’s auditioning for the NFL.
That’s not a trend that the WNBA is excited about. That’s a trend that Kathy Angleberg would say, “Hey, Fever. Hey, Lynn Gunn. Hey, Kelly. Hey, Amber. Can you guys start dangling that Caitlin Clark returned like you used to do? You know, before Kaitlin Clark gave a statement and you guys were hands off. Can you guys, you know, just string them along a little bit more? We want to get these ratings back up.
We want to get these numbers back. Here’s the thing. None of this is happening in a vacuum. The WNBA has been begging people for years to take it seriously, to give it the spotlight, to treat it as more than just an afterthought. But the league itself isn’t doing it any favors. The commissioner seems allergic to player protection, as if the idea of enforcing rules and protecting stars is just too radical.
People actually tuned in, curious to see if the hype was real. The pre-clark injury days were golden. Suddenly, ESPN was pretending like they cared. Highlights made it onto Sports Center, and Twitter users pretended to know what a pick and roll is. But the second she was out, the ratings dropped faster than Angel Reese’s interest in finishing the season.
It’s almost like the WNBA finally discovered what happens when your marketing plan is one player and your refereeing plan is let her get punched in the face. Now, some fans might argue that this is just a rough patch, that injuries happen, that foul calls are part of the game. But let’s be honest, this isn’t just bad luck.
It’s bad leadership. The commissioner has been sitting back like a substitute teacher who’s lost control of the class. Instead of fixing problems, the league doubled down on ignoring them. Star players dropping out. Hey, it’s fine. Referees making games unwatchable. Don’t worry, the fans will stick around. Spoiler, they didn’t.
At Indiana against the Chicago Sky, right after that game, they open an investigation once again into the fans where they found nothing, but the damage had already been done at that point. If some of these things happen just one time here and there, or there’s one certain media personality who’s just always saying these kind of things, then whatever.
I feel like fans as a whole can be like, “Okay, whatever. This person is just a hater.” But this is something that has happened over and over and over again and over time it starts chipping away at how much you’re going to actually care and want to support an organization if they continue to do things like and the players who are still healthy, they’re forced to play in games that look less like basketball and more like a combination of rugby and professional wrestling.
Half the time you’re not sure if you’re watching a playoff game or the WWE SummerSlam. You expect someone to grab a steel chair any moment. Meanwhile, the commissioner still does interviews talking about how the league is growing and building momentum. Sure, and I’m growing taller every time I wear high heels.
Calling this season growth is like calling a house fire a new lighting design. It’s delusional. These women are out there giving everything, even as the system around them crumbles. They don’t deserve reps who whistle like they’re at a birthday party for toddlers. They don’t deserve leadership that treats their health like an optional side quest.
They don’t deserve a league that markets them only when it’s convenient and abandons them the second things get tough. But here we are, the WNBA season limping to a close, ratings circling the drain, stars on the injured list, and fans shaking their heads wondering if the league can even survive another year like this.
If this was supposed to be the season of growth, then congratulations. It grew into the biggest mess imaginable. This Caitlyn Clark thing, man. I mean, it it’s embarrassing. It is embarrassing what you guys have done. And then people are catching on to your tactics. You got the people on Twitter catching on to your tactics.
Like, look at this right here. Look at this right here. They say ESPN didn’t want to show the ratings were down from WNBA Allstar game because Caitlyn Clark did. Maybe next year the commissioner will take player safety seriously. Maybe the referees will learn what a foul is. Maybe stars like Caitlyn Clark will actually be able to finish a season without being tackled into early retirement.
But until then, the WNBA is on the brink. And it’s not because fans don’t care. It’s because leadership doesn’t. The WNBA thought this was going to be the year of endless ticket sales. the year where arenas would be packed, fans lining up outside like it was the release of the new iPhone. Instead, the reality has been empty seats that echo louder than the referee whistles.
You can almost hear popcorn vendors sighing into the void, begging someone, anyone, to buy a hot dog. Ticket sales for most games look like a clearance rack at a failing department store. We’re expanding the fan base, they say, while fans are expanding their Netflix queue instead of watching. The truth is, without Clark drawing viewers, without Cunningham on the floor, and without Ree stirring up drama, the WNBA ticket sales collapsed faster than a Jenga tower in an earthquake.
But the funniest part of all this, the league tries to spin it. Social media posts are still rolling out like everything is normal. Another exciting night of WNBA action, they say. Meanwhile, fans in the comments are like, “Exciting where? At which game did you mean in another dimension?” The replies are filled with people posting memes of tumble weeds rolling across empty seats.
You know it’s bad when your own marketing tweets become a comedy show for fans who’ve clearly given up hope. Mean, roads? Well, how about this? Pay us what you owe us. That looks like a ham sandwich and some lazed tater chips right now. It’s getting bad. Um, I feel bad for Caitlyn Clark. She come out and said on Sue Bird’s podcast that she’s feeling the pressure of not playing in these games and that Fever Sky viewership fell off the map.
Let’s not forget the commissioner herself. She deserves an Oscar for acting like nothing is wrong. She gets on camera talking about how the league is in the best position it’s ever been. That’s like the captain of the Titanic bragging about how the ship looks great underwater. Sure, technically it’s still floating, but not in the way you want.
The commissioner has become a master of denial, like a magician who tries to distract you with card tricks while the entire stage is on fire. And when people call her out, when fans demand accountability for all the injuries, the terrible officiating, and the obvious lack of player protection, silence, or worse, some canned response about reviewing our protocols.
Medical staff rush in like it’s the moon landing. Refs suddenly remember how to enforce rules. The league bends over backward to protect its money makers. Because guess what? Without your stars, nobody watches. Without your stars, ratings die. Without your stars, ticket sales plummet. It’s not rocket science. It’s basic business. The NFL, same thing.
Quarterbacks are treated like priceless works of art. You so much as breathe too hard on Patrick Mahomes, and referees will throw a flag faster than you can say roughing the passer. Meanwhile, in the WNBA, Caitlyn Clark is body checked into the scorer’s table, and the refs are like, “Play on.
Nothing to see here.” No wonder fans are furious. No wonder people are tuning out. Some good news and some bad news for those who are fans of pretend basketball. For those who are desperate to see the WNBA succeed, even though this dump of a league can’t seem to get the hell out of their own way.
Now, the WNBA, they refer to these people as fans, but the rest of us, we prefer to call them the mainstream media. And let’s talk about those fans for a second, because honestly, they deserve medals. Imagine sticking with this league all season. Buying tickets, buying jerseys, supporting the players only to be rewarded with chaos, injuries, empty arenas, and officiating that makes high school intramurals look professional.
The diehard fans must feel like they’ve been trapped in a toxic relationship. They keep hoping things will get better, but instead the league forgets their anniversary, wrecks their car, and then blames them for not being supportive enough. On social media, the frustration is everywhere.
Every time the league posts highlights, you see the same comments. Protect Caitlyn Clark. Where’s the leadership? Why is this ref employed? Why are ticket prices higher than my phone bill for games that look like Sunday pickup at the YMCA? It’s endless. Because it sure looks like it. Financially, they can’t afford another season like this.
Ratings tanked. Ticket sales are embarrassing. Star power is gone. Momentum evaporated the moment Clark was sidelined. It feels like the league is dangling from a cliff by one pinky finger while the commissioner stands above saying, “Don’t worry, we’re growing.” Let’s get real. If the WNBA collapses, it won’t be because fans didn’t care.
It won’t be because women’s sports can’t thrive. It’ll be because the league leadership failed the players, failed the fans, and failed itself. Because how do you build a sustainable league when every year feels like a fresh episode of who’s injured this time? How do you build loyalty when referees make games unwatchable? How do you expand when your stars are more likely to end the season in crutches than with a trophy? You see, you see this is exactly what we were talking about.
WNBA Allstar ratings are in for 2025 and it is down 40%. 40% from last year. That’s bad. That is really bad. We already watched the ticket prices drop by more than 50% because Caitlyn Clark was not playing. This is bad news for the WNBA. And before anyone tries to sugarcoat it, let’s state the obvious. This season is already a failure.
No amount of PR spin can change that. You can’t slap a fresh coat of paint on a crumbling building and call it a mansion. The WNBA can call the playoffs exciting. They can push marketing campaigns. They can tweet about record-breaking moments. But fans know the truth. This season has been one long blooper reel.
What makes it worse is the wasted opportunity. Caitlyn Clark had people tuning in. She had people talking. She had casual fans invested for the first time in forever. The WNBA has become the poster child for how not to run a sports league. Want to know how to kill momentum? Injure your stars. Want to know how to kill ratings? Don’t protect your players? Want to know how to kill fan loyalty? charge them premium prices to watch games that feel like Wreck League basketball with better uniforms.
It’s a masterclass in self-destruction. The sad part is it doesn’t have to be this way. With real leadership, with referees who actually know the rule book, with a commissioner who prioritizes player safety, the WNBA could thrive. But instead, we’re watching a slow motion collapse, one twisted ankle at a time. So all of you guys can sit there and say, “Oh, you guys are just trying to uplift one player.
Oh, the league is more than one.” I agree. The league is more than one player. It’s more than one good basketball player. But is there more than one player that moves the tide? No. So, as the season crawls to its ugly finish, let’s call it what it is, a mess. A spectacular, ridiculous, embarrassing mess.
The commissioner can talk about growth all she wants, but fans see the truth. And unless something changes, unless there’s a real overhaul, unless the league stops treating its stars like disposable props, this mess isn’t going away. But if this season proved anything, it’s this. No matter how much hype you build, no matter how many stars you market, it means nothing if you can’t protect them.
And until that changes, the WNBA will keep stumbling season after season while fans keep asking themselves why they should even bother.