WNBA All-Star Game draws record 3.44 million viewers, third-most watched event ever in league

NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA All-Star Game drew a record viewership Saturday night, with 3.44 million people tuning in to watch the game in Phoenix.

The game, in which the WNBA All-Stars defeated the U.S. Olympic team 117-109, easily surpassed the 1.44 million viewers for the 2003 game. Saturday’s game peaked at more than 4 million viewers.

It was the third-most-watched WNBA event ever and the largest audience for the league since the first two nationally televised games in 1997.

Last year’s match, which was also televised in prime time, attracted 850,000 viewers.

This was the 17th WNBA game this season to draw more than 1 million viewers, with rookie Caitlin Clark appearing in 15 of the games.

The Fever rookie had four points and 10 assists in Saturday’s game.