The WNBA’s broadcast and streaming partners are ready for The Caitlin Clark Show.
Carolyn Kaster/AP
Caitlin Clark hasn’t even been drafted yet, and her impact on the WNBA is already on full display.
Wednesday afternoon, the league announced its national broadcast and streaming schedule for the upcoming 28th season and the Indiana Fever will be featured the most. Not the back-to-back WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, or the runner-up New York Liberty, but the Fever who went 13-27 last season and finished 10th in league standings.
After having just 22 games nationally broadcast or streamed last season, the Fever will have 36 of their 40 games featured on national broadcasts or by the league’s streaming partners. A direct result of Clark being their anticipated selection with the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft on April 15.
“The WNBA’s broadcast and streaming partners are offering a huge national platform that will showcase the league’s superstars, rising stars, rivalries and a newly reconfigured WNBA Commissioner’s Cup presented by Coinbase,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in part in the league’s press release.
The Sky’s schedule will feature 23 nationally broadcast/streamed games. All four of the Sky’s games against the Fever will be nationally televised or streamed. The team’s complete broadcast schedule has yet to be released.
Chicago’s first meeting against Clark and the Fever on June 1 in Indiana will be broadcast on NBA TV. The Sky’s second road game against Indiana on June 16 will be on CBS. Their June 23 meeting at Wintrust Arena will again be on NBA TV. Their final game against the Fever and second at home on Aug. 30 will be broadcast on ION.
The cheapest tickets for the Sky’s two home games against the Fever are going for $125. The highest ticket price is $1,700.
For comparison, the Sky’s home opener on May 25 against the Connecticut Sun has ticket prices ranging from $22 to $613. Three days later, Jewell Loyd and the Seattle Storm are in town, and ticket prices range between $20 and $485.
The Sky hosts the reigning champion Aces and Candace Parker — a member of the Sky’s 2021 championship team — on June 27. Tickets for that game are selling for as little as $25 and at most $920.
Beyond the jump in ticket sale prices for games against the Fever, some teams have opted for bigger venues. The Aces moved their July 2 game against Clark and the Fever to T-Mobile Arena, which can accommodate nearly 20,000 fans. The Aces usually play at Michelob Ultra Arena, which seats 12,000.
The United Center is occupied on June 23 when the Sky host the Fever for the first time this season. However, there is nothing scheduled on the United Center’s event calendar when the Fever come to town for the second time on Aug. 30.
Currently, both of the Sky’s home games against the Fever are far from a sellout which could indicate they have no interest in changing venues for the Clark Show.
The attention surrounding Clark’s WNBA debut and discussions that attempted to determine if she’s worthy of the GOAT moniker warranted strong responses from some of the league’s greatest. The WNBA’s all-time leading scorer and first player to eclipse 10,000 career points, Diana Taurasi has always talked avidly about enjoying dishing out “welcome to the league” moments to rookies.
When asked about this incoming class, specifically, Taurasi did not hold back.
“Reality is coming,” Diana Taurasi said on ESPN following Iowa’s Final Four win over UConn. “There are levels to this thing. That’s just life. We all went through it. You see it on the NBA side, and you’re going to see it on this side, where you look superhuman playing against 18-year-olds, but you’re going to come with some grown women who have been playing professional basketball for a long time.”
The Mercury began promoting ticket sales for their June 30 game against the Fever using a marketing campaign with the slogan “The GOAT vs. the Rookie.”
Featured in the middle of the graphic is a photo of Taurasi looming above Clark’s silhouette.