Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky drew 3.31 million viewers on NBC and Peacock.
Why it matters: The audience marks a new benchmark for the WNBA's mainstream reach, with Caitlin Clark again driving massive attention. Strong TV numbers matter for media-rights talks, sponsorship pricing and the league's leverage as women's sports keep growing.
- The Sunday, Aug. 23 game averaged 3.31 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, per AP and NBC Sports.
- It was the most-watched regular-season WNBA game since the league's inaugural 1997 season and the third-most watched regular-season game ever.
- The game peaked at 3.82 million viewers.
- Caitlin Clark scored 37 points and hit a career-high eight 3-pointers in Indiana's 113-90 win.
Indiana's 113-90 win over Chicago delivered a ratings milestone for the WNBA, with AP reporting that the game averaged 3.31 million viewers on NBC and Peacock.
That made it the most-watched regular-season WNBA game since the league launched in 1997, and the third-most watched regular-season game ever. The only regular-season games with larger audiences were two opening-weekend contests from June 21-22, 1997, both on NBC.
NBC Sports said the audience figure was based on official Nielsen Big Data + Panel and Adobe Analytics digital data in its press release. The network framed the game as part of NBC's 2026 WNBA Sunday Night Basketball package, which began with Fever-Aces in July.
Caitlin Clark was central to the spike. AP said she scored 37 points and made a career-high eight 3-pointers, and noted that the teams' previous meeting on Aug. 8 included a Flagrant 2 ejection for Chicago's DiJonai Carrington on Indiana's Sophie Cunningham.
The result lands as the WNBA works through a broader national-rights shift. The league's 2026 broadcast schedule says NBCUniversal is one of its new media-rights partners beginning this season, alongside Disney, Amazon Prime Video, CBS Sports/Paramount+, Scripps/Ion and VERSANT/USA Network.
By the numbers
- 3.31 million - average viewers for Fever-Sky on NBC and Peacock
- 3.82 million - peak viewers during the game
- 113-90 - Indiana's win over Chicago
Yes, but: The figure reflects a single regular-season telecast, not overall league attendance or postseason interest.