ESPN ignored the Caitlin Clark-sized elephant in the room.
Fans Notice ESPN’s WNBA Announcement Skipped Over Caitlin Clark originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The WNBA All-Star Game was a celebration, but the loudest storylines had less to do with highlights and more with a notable absence and the league's shortcomings.
The All-Stars took a stand against the WNBA regarding their payment, wearing T-shirts pregame that read, "Pay us what you owe us." While that emphasizes the work the league has to do in terms of compensation, the absence of Caitlin Clark also accentuated how much of a needle-mover she is.
The Indiana Fever guard and All-Star captain was sidelined due to a groin injury, and as history has a tendency to do, it repeated itself when it came to viewership. As revealed on Tuesday, when compared to last year's All-Star Game, which featured Clark against Team USA, this year's game saw a 36 percent decrease in viewership.
However, in an ill-advised effort that fans quickly saw through later in the day, ESPN celebrated the rise in viewership when comparing this year's numbers to 2023.
ESPN, ABC & @DisneyPlus scored historic viewership for the '25 #WNBAAllStar Weekend 👏
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) July 22, 2025
Skills Challenge & 3-Point Contest
🏀 1.3M avg. viewers
WNBA All-Star Game
🏀 2.2M avg. viewers pic.twitter.com/D4nr20k5Pe
Although viewership rose 89 percent for the Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest this year, many fans took exception with ESPN celebrating the 158 percent increase in viewership from 2023 to 2025.
The common consensus being that ESPN purposefully did so to ignore the decline in views, and attempted to mitigate just how important Clark is.
"It dropped 36% from last year. It's about one person. Any other narrative is just disingenuous virtue signaling or trolling," wrote one fan.
"It was 3.4 million last year when Caitlin Clark played," said a second.
"Why not compare the 2025 ASG ratings with those from 2024? Oh, WE ALL KNOW WHY," exclaimed another.
"lol 1.2M fewer viewers this year than last year with Clark playing," chimed in another fan.
Caitlin Clark effect
When Clark missed five games in June with a quad strain, it was reported that the WNBA saw a 55 percent decrease in viewership with the Fever seeing a 53 percent decline in viewership as well.
On the contrary, when she does play, views are frequently historic. Her clash with Angel Reese and the Sky to open the season was the most-watched regular-season game since 2000. On top of that, she has played in the top-four most-watched games this season, according to Front Office Sports.
When does Caitlin Clark return?
With the Fever taking on the New York Liberty on Tuesday, Clark is still out, missing her 12th game of the season. In terms of when she will return, Fever coach Stephanie White has yet to provide a possible timeline.
Related: WNBA All-Star Game Viewership Turns Heads as Numbers Without Caitlin Clark Are Revealed
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 23, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Basketball
