REVEALED: Caitlin Clark causes WNBA ratings to plummet as fans drift away after rookie season ends

Television ratings for this season’s WNBA playoffs plummeted after Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever were eliminated last week.

Clark’s rookie season ended with the Fever falling to a second straight defeat at the Connecticut Sun last Wednesday, a result that knocked them out of the playoffs in the first round.

A record WNBA audience of 2.54 million tuned in to watch the 22-year-old wrap up her season in Connecticut, with a previous record of 1.84 million watching the first game of the series on Sept. 22.

However, the first weekend of WNBA playoffs without Clark could not generate the same interest as Indiana was no longer in the tournament.

The first semifinal matchup between the New York Liberty and the Las Vegas Aces, two of the league’s most popular and successful teams, drew just 929,000 viewers, according to ESPN (via Fox News).

That number is 50 percent lower against the Sun in the Fever’s Game 1, which could also be contested on NFL Sunday.

While it still didn’t match the numbers Clark produced, the Liberty and Aces’ opening clash in the semifinals actually brought in more viewers than last season’s final match between the two teams.

Meanwhile, there were approximately 650,000 spectators for Game 1 of the Minnesota Lynx and Connecticut Sun semifinal.

The semifinal matches both fell significantly below Clark’s regular season matches in terms of viewership; The Fever’s clash against the Lynx reached 1.26 million viewers last month.

This game was also played on the same night and at the same time as the Week 1 NFL game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers.

Clark, one of the most successful college athletes of all time, has brought unprecedented levels of interest in women’s basketball since joining the WNBA this year.

It made the Fever by far the most-watched WNBA team and had the 14th-largest all-Indiana TV audience of the season.

The former Iowa sensation was recently awarded the WNBA Rookie of the Year award after her incredible first season in the big leagues.

He averaged 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and led the league in assists with 8.4 per game. Clark also led the Fever to their first playoff appearance since 2016.

The Fever’s superstar added 25 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds in the season-ending loss to the Sun. He also left with another record after becoming the first rookie to win a postseason game with a 25-5-5 record.