Aug 7, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) against the Phoenix Mercury during an WNBA game at PHX Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Sophie Cunningham Flexes Indiana Fever's WNBA Playoff Ratings Role

Originally posted on Indiana Fever on SI | By Grant Young | Last updated Oct 15, 2025 11:31 AM ET

Even without superstar point guard Caitlin Clark on the court during the 2025 WNBA postseason, the Indiana Fever arguably remained the league's top attraction amidst their unexpected run to the WNBA Semifinals.

One reason for this is that the women's basketball community was blown away by how far Indiana was able to go, given the season-ending injuries that Clark and several other key players (like Sophie Cunningham) sustained during the regular season. Plus, the Fever have proven to be one of the league's most loyal fan bases, showing up to support their team both in person and when watching games on TV.

The latter point was proven through the TV ratings for the Fever's WNBA Semifinals series against the Las Vegas Aces. IndyStar's Chloe Peterson made an X post on September 30 that conveyed how Game 3 of the series averaged 1.4 million viewers on ESPN, while Game 4 two days later also averaged 1.4 million viewers and peaked at 2 million, making it the second-most-watched WNBA postseason game on ABC ever.

What's more, the winner-take-all Game 5 between Indiana and Las Vegas averaged 1.83 million viewers on ESPN2, according to Sports Media Watch. This made it the third most-watched WNBA playoff game outside of the Finals since 1999, only trailing the Fever's two playoff games in 2024 (which Caitlin Clark competed in).

Overall, the series averaged 1.56 million viewers (according to an X post from Nekias Duncan), making it the most-watched WNBA semifinals ever.

WNBA Finals Ratings Reveal Sparks Sophie Cunningham Fever Flex

On October 14, ESPN made an X post revealing that the 2025 WNBA postseason was the most-watched in league history (for games that were broadcast on ESPN's networks). Postseason games averaged 1.2 million viewers, while the WNBA Finals averaged 1.5 million viewers.

ESPN recorded the most-watched WNBA postseason (Playoffs + Finals) EVER across its networks pic.twitter.com/ZJWCI19LUa
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) October 14, 2025

For those keeping track, this meant that the Fever vs. Aces WNBA Semifinals series averaged slightly more viewers than the Mercury vs. Aces WNBA Semifinals. And Fever star Sophie Cunningham called attention to this during an October 14 episode of her Show Me Something podcast.

"I haven't really researched this, so I could be completely wrong on this. But I did hear that our [WNBA Semifinals] games were viewed more than the Finals games. Like, just our series," Cunningham (accurately) said.

Her co-host, West Wilson, responded by saying, "That checks out," which made Cunningham laugh and nod her head in agreement. She later added that the Fever were a couple of calls away from beating the Aces and advancing to the Finals, which surely would have a major impact on TV ratings.

Cunningham is spot on about the Fever's major impact on these historic WNBA playoff ratings, which could have been boosted significantly if Caitlin Clark was able to compete.

This article first appeared on Indiana Fever on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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