Fever, Caitlin Clark remain massive draw as WNBA reveals 2026 TV lineup

Three years into the Caitlin Clark era, and the Indiana Fever are still the WNBA's hottest ticket.

On Wednesday, the league revealed its TV slate for the upcoming 2026 regular season, and all 44 of the Fever's games will be nationally televised, a WNBA first.

WNBA, broadcast partners bet big on Indiana Fever with 2026 TV schedule release

Last season, Indiana went 24-20 and reached the playoffs for the second year in a row after a seven-year drought. The Fever then pushed the Las Vegas Aces, who won their third WNBA championship in four years, to overtime in Game 5 of the semifinals, a remarkably successful end for a team wrecked by injuries, most prominently to Clark.

The 2024 Rookie of the Year missed 31 games, but she's healthy entering 2026, which should result in a ratings goldmine. Last season, the Fever's opener against the Chicago Sky drew 2.7M viewers, a WNBA record for an ESPN network game. Clark was also responsible for the two most-watched WNBA games in CBS history, including an audience of 2.22M in a game versus the New York Liberty last May.

As Front Office Sports noted in September 2025, "The four most-watched games of the year all featured Clark."

The league is entering the first year of an 11-year, $2.2 billion media rights deal with Disney, which owns ABC and ESPN, Amazon (Prime Video) and NBCUniversal, in addition to pre-existing deals with CBS and Scripps, which distributes Friday night games on ION. It makes sense, then, that its media partners would want to maximize viewership by showcasing Clark and the Fever as often as possible. But that also means fans will be stretched thin.

Below is a breakdown of how the games were split:

• USA Network (nine)
• Prime Video (eight)
• ION (seven)
• ESPN (six)
• ABC (four)
• CBS (four)
• Peacock (three)
• NBC (two)
• NBA TV (one)

Clark has been a ratings magnet over her first two seasons, and that's expected to continue this year. But that also means her health will be even more important than in 2025, which once again puts a spotlight on the league's officiating.

Critics have lamented the physicality against Clark, arguing she doesn't get nearly as many calls as she should, considering the amount of contact she draws. Those moments, as they arise in 2026, will be put under a microscope.

Wednesday's lineup reveal shows the league and its media partners understand the value of Clark being healthy. It will take more consistent officiating for everyone to get their money's worth.