ESPN VP: WNBA Viewership Growth Is Structural, Not a Caitlin Clark Effect
ESPN VP Susie Piotrkowski said the network had its best-ever WNBA regular season and playoff ratings in 2025 even after Caitlin Clark went out injured in July, and that the Women Sports Sundays programming franchise is being built as a standalone primetime product, not a vehicle for any individual player. Broadcaster Ros Gold-Onwude echoed the point, noting that the entire ecosystem of women's basketball is growing, not just fan bases tied to specific athletes. ESPN is using its own internal ratings data as the primary evidence for the category investment.
Why it matters
The argument that women's sports viewership depends on a single star is the first thing a brand manager raises when trying to discount an endorsement rate for a female athlete who is not Caitlin Clark. ESPN's data directly refutes it: the WNBA had record ratings in 2025 with its biggest draw sidelined for most of the season. That is a rate justification tool. Use it in negotiations for any women's sports client and pair it with the ESPN primetime slot commitment as institutional backing. The combination of network investment data and ratings proof takes the conversation from opinion to fact.
Get the full briefing weekly
Read by talent managers, agents, and brand partnership professionals every Friday.