Fever-Sky Game Draws 3.31 Million Viewers, WNBA's Most-Watched Regular-Season Game Since 1997

The Chicago Sky-Indiana Fever matchup on NBC and Peacock drew 3.31 million viewers, according to Front Office Sports, the most-watched WNBA regular-season game since the league's opening weekend in 1997. Viewership was measured using Nielsen Big Data + Panel and digital data from Adobe Analytics. The Fever won 113-90. Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell combined for 67 points. The previous record for a regular-season game was the Fever-Atlanta Dream matchup on August 16, which drew 2.6 million viewers on cable, per ESPN's reporting. Late in the third quarter, Enes Kanter Freedom, a former NBA player whose last league appearance was in 2022, was ejected from Wintrust Arena after a verbal altercation with Sky guard Natasha Cloud. According to Front Office Sports, after Cloud made a layup, she began to say something toward Freedom, who then stood up, raised his arms, and stepped forward before security restrained him. Sky owner Michael Alter stated that security rightfully removed Freedom after he turned himself into a threat by taking a step toward Cloud. Alter told reporters that Freedom had engaged in what he characterized as basketball-related trash talk earlier in the third quarter. One courtside fan, Trista Smith, told reporters that Freedom did not initiate the altercation, contradicting the owner's account. A Sky spokesperson said Pagliocca did not invite Freedom and does not endorse him, and that the two have not spoken in years. The Chicago Sky has placed an indefinite ban on Freedom attending the team's home games. According to a league source cited by Front Office Sports, Freedom is not banned from attending other WNBA games as a fan, and the WNBA does not intend to impose a league-wide ban on him. Alter said he regretted not informing players before the game that Freedom was expected to attend. NBC is broadcasting WNBA games this season for the first time since 2002 as part of the league's new media rights deal worth more than $3 billion. For context, last year's Finals averaged 1.5 million viewers over four games on ESPN networks.