Caitlin Clark's Injury Has Had Stunning Impact on WNBA Ratings

Caitlin Clark's injury hasn't just impacted the Indiana Fever.

It's also impacted the WNBA's ratings, stunningly so. Nationally televised WNBA games are down 55% since Clark's injury, according to Nielsen, via USA Today. In a similar vein, nationally televised Fever games are down 53% since Clark's injury. This translates out to an average of roughly 1.8 million viewers pre-injury and just under 850,000 viewers post-injury.

Given the massive boom the WNBA saw in ratings and ticket sales since Clark entered the league, it stands to reason that there would be a tangible impact on viewership when she's not around. And since this is the first injury of her pro basketball career, it's the first time that anyone has even had the chance to see what the WNBA ratings would look like without her.

Well, they're here and they're certainly not the best. But to be fair, there's likely a couple of factors at play here. There's quite a bit going on in the sports world at the moment, from the NBA Finals to the Stanley Cup Final to the ratings-resurgent French Open. And while the NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Final aren't bringing in the best ratings, both are still options to compete with the Clark-less Fever.

Additionally, immensely popular Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers was also sidelined due to injury during a portion of the time that Clark has been sidelined, perhaps in part contributing to the dip in the WNBA's national ratings.

So while there are a few things to take into consideration here, there's also no denying Clark's impact on the WNBA.

She's box office.

Clark, who has missed the last six Fever games, has begun to practice in a limited capacity but still has no timetable to return from her left quad strain.