Caitlin Clark made her NBC pregame show debut on Sunday, offering insights into her upcoming third WNBA season while expressing admiration for Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic.
During NBC's Basketball Night in America ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers vs New York Knicks broadcast, Caitlin Clark highlighted specific aspects of Doncic's game she hopes to incorporate into her own play. The Indiana Fever star praised the NBA player's versatility and basketball intelligence.
Caitlin Clark emphasized Doncic's singular ability to excel without relying solely on athleticism or speed. She also noted his exceptional passing and scoring skills, praising how he manipulates defensive positioning to create advantages.
According to Clark, Doncic uses his body to keep defenders at bay — a skill she hopes to further develop. The WNBA superstar acknowledged that while Doncic may not always be the fastest or most athletic, his spatial awareness and tactical decision-making set him apart.
Clark also weighed in on NBA legend Michael Jordan's take on hostile road environments. She expressed gratitude to Indiana Fever fans traveling to away games, noting strong support in venues the New York Liberty's Barclays Center and the Valkyries' always-packed San Francisco arena. Following Jordan's philosophy, Caitlin Clark stressed silencing opposing crowds quickly by forcing early timeouts.
During the broadcast, the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year competed in a HORSE competition against NBA icon Jamal Crawford, showcasing her own shooting prowess.
She later revealed a desire to play at Madison Square Garden, joking about taking on any team willing to play the Fever at the iconic NBA venue.
How to watch Caitlin Clark on NBC Sports this NBA season
Clark will next join Basketball Night in America on March 29th, adding commentary before the Knicks face the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The NWSL is looking to sign a new Sunday night TV deal, according to a Sports Business Journal report published this week.
The league is targeting a two-year deal starting in 2026, with both new and existing TV partners interested in picking up additional NWSL games.
NWSL looks to build on multimillion dollar TV deal
The NWSL is currently two years into a four-year, $240 million TV partnership with ESPN, Prime, ION, and CBS Sports. However, the current contract doesn’t cover the entire schedule. And with league expansion planned for 2026, even more inventory is on the way.
SBJ notes that the market for this season’s lineup has been strong. In fact, all four media partners have already sold out all their 2025 advertising slots.
“You cannot find a place to spend right now,” IMG’s Hillary Mandel said at a recent Business of Soccer event hosted by SBJ. “We know what’s motivating interest is the fact that there’s no place to invest. That’s a phenomenal story in such a short period of time."
ESPN spotlighted for TV network-owned Sunday lineup
ESPN could be a prime candidate for a Sunday package, with the network set to move on from Sunday Night Baseball after the 2025 MLB season.
The NWSL has traditionally leaned into network-owned nights, with Prime airing Friday night matchups and ION running Saturday double-headers.
The NWSL’s most recent contract subsequently added serious value to the league. And the returns have networks coming back for more, setting up a potential bidding war and easing growing pains as new teams join the fold.
Caitlin Clark’s WNBA debut drew 2.1 million viewers across all platforms on Tuesday night, making it the most-watched WNBA game in 23 years.
The Fever-Sun matchup was the most-watched WNBA game ever broadcast on ESPN. The network's previous record was set in 2004, when Diana Taurasi’s Phoenix Mercury debut drew 1.43 million viewers.
The game between Indiana and Connecticut was also the most-watched WNBA game since an NBC broadcast of the Los Angeles Sparks and Houston Comets brought in 2.45 million viewers on Memorial Day in 2001.
Clark had a team-leading 20 points on the night, but also a WNBA-record 10 turnovers. She finished 5-for-15 from the field.
"She's a rookie," Fever coach Christie Sides said after the game. "This is the best league in the world. We've got to teach her. We've got to teach her what these games are going to look like for her every single night. And we've got to eliminate some of that pressure for her, and that's on me."
The former Iowa star is used to the pressure, and has routinely broken viewership records throughout her career. There was hope that her presence would grow the WNBA fanbase after Iowa and South Carolina's 2024 NCAA championship clash brought in a record 18.7 million viewers.
In April, Clark — alongside a star-studded rookie class — headlined the most-watched WNBA draft in history with 2.45 million viewers.
Women’s sports television viewership continues to grow, with the EuroLeague and LPGA the latest examples of the boom.
The EuroLeague shattered previous highs for engagement in 2022-23, reaching 3.4 million engagements and 124 million impressions for the season. Video views also increased on their YouTube channel, nearly doubling from 25 million in 2021-22 to 48 million this year.
Among the causes for the EuroLeague’s rise is a “rapidly expanding interest from the USA,” according to FIBA. Not only was the U.S. ranked first in the EuroLeague’s audience demographics, surpassing Turkey and Spain, but their use of the league’s website increased by 133 percent in 2022-23.
“We are extremely proud to see the continued rise in popularity of EuroLeague Women. The increased digital growth shows that there is a dedicated and passionate audience that keeps building,” said FIBA Executive Director Europe, Kamil Novak.
“As always, we must continue to push forward in order to reach greater heights and help raise the profile of the women’s game in line with FIBA’s key strategic pillars.”
Meanwhile, the Chevron Championship this past weekend — the first LPGA major of the year — was the most-watched edition of the tournament since 2010. It was also NBC Sports’ most-watched Chevron Championship on record.
The final round on NBC averaged 941,000 viewers, peaking at 1.54 million as Lilia Vu defeated Angel Yin in a one-hole playoff. It was the top-rated sports program on NBC for the week, featured among the top programs for the week across all broadcast networks and was among the top 10 sports broadcasts on Sunday — despite competing against the NBA and NHL playoffs.
The viewership also marked a considerable jump from last year, when the tournament drew 349,000 average viewers on the Golf Channel.
The positive numbers are a reflection of the overall growth in women’s sports attendance and viewership, with the most recent NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament shattering TV records in women’s college basketball.