Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier expressed surprise that the WNBA is focusing broadcast games on Caitlin Clark more so than the defending league champions.
As reported at Bounding Into Sports, the Indiana Fever is set to dominate national airwaves like never before this coming season.
And Collier can’t quite figure out why things are so lopsided.
“Obviously, people want to watch Caitlin play, and you have to put the people on TV that people want to see. But, at the same time, there are stars all over the league, and you want good basketball, as well,” she said on Tuesday’s First Take on ESPN.
“Obviously, Indiana … will be a great team, but to not have the defending champs on TV more, I think it’s kind of crazy.”
Napheesa Collier weighs in on whether the Indiana Fever should have 41 games Nationally Televised. pic.twitter.com/fb6DpDJ1FI
— Ken Swift (@kenswift) March 25, 2025
The Champs Aren’t Exactly Being Left Out
To be clear here, the defending champion New York Liberty isn’t exactly being left out in the cold here. Nor are the league’s other stars.
Yes, according to The Athletic, 41 of Caitlin Clark’s 44 regular-season games will be nationally televised or streamed, the most of any team in the league.
Ten of those games will be on ABC/ESPN, and another eight on ION. It’s a testament to Clark’s meteoric rise and the “Caitlin Clark Effect” that’s reshaping women’s basketball.
But the Liberty are getting some serious play as well. They’re going to see 32 nationally televised or streamed games, while last year’s league MVP, A’ja Wilson, and the Las Vegas Aces will appear on 33 such broadcasts.
The W is trying to spread things out. But you have to start with the only star in the league that everybody wants to see playing – the one who has brought unprecedented ticket sales and ratings.
Don’t forget, the W is still losing money on the order of some $40 million, even after Caitlin Clark quadrupled the popularity of the league all by herself.
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Should Caitlin Clark Have Her Own Network Deal?
It’s certainly not “crazy” that the WNBA is trying to broadcast Caitlin Clark as often as possible. Quite frankly, it could have been even better.
FS1 host Colin Cowherd believes the league could have gone a step further.
“If I was the WNBA, I would have considered a separate television package to a network on just Caitlin Clark games,” he said.
“I would’ve had two packages. The WNBA package, and then a separate, let’s say 15 to 18 game Caitlin Clark package for, you know, it could be HBO, it could be Fox, it could be anybody,” added Cowherd. “I would’ve sold a separate Caitlin Clark package.”
Collier would have been genuinely flabbergasted if that had happened.
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