Fever-Liberty viewership numbers prove how impactful Caitlin Clark's injury is

The Indiana Fever-New York Liberty match-up did not disappoint its viewers. It brought in an average of 2.22 million viewers, coming in second only to last season's Fever-Sky match-up as the most watched WNBA game on CBS. It was also the second most-watched game in the WNBA this season.

This should come to no surprise, however. Despite the Fever's loss, the game had everything any sports fan could want - drama, deep range passes and a 34-foot logo shot from star guard Caitlin Clark, a hot crowd and a close finish. It is undeniable that Clark has been and will continue to turn the needle not just for women's sports, but the sports world as a whole.

Because of the high demand for Clark, the latest news of her injury leaves fans in a panic.

The WNBA has never had a player that brings the economic and viewership impact as Caitlin Clark does. Fans will now have to wait a minimum of two weeks to see the generational talent perform again. Saturday's game against the Liberty proves that seeing Clark play is on many fan's bucket lists.

Fans in Gainbridge Fieldhouse had some not so cheerful moments in the game. In fact, it was Clark's 34-foot shot and four-point play that ignited the crowd and kept them on their feet for most of the remaining minutes of the game.

Caitlin Clark's absence will create major gaps around the league

The Fever will have at least four games without Clark. Luckily for them, their upcoming schedule couldn't come at a better time. Among the four teams they will be facing (Chicago Sky, Washington Mystics x2 & Connecticut Sun) there is a combined record of 2-12.

This doesn't change the negative impact her absence will have throughout the entire league especially if she ends up missing more time than expected.

Since the announcement of Clark's injury, ticket sales have plummeted. This is a devastating blow to the league economically. Each of the upcoming meetings against both the Sky and Mystics were both moved to larger arenas to keep up with the ticket demand and allow larger capacities. According to TickPick, ticket costs to the match-up with the Sky tanked by 71% since Monday.

Viewership is expected to take a hit right along with ticket sales. Half of the Fever's next four games are being aired nationally (on Ion & CBS) with the other two games being streamed on NBA TV.

It has yet to be seen just how much of an impact her absence will have on viewers tuning in, but with the quick re-selling of tickets and overall drop in sales, it's anticipated that viewer numbers will also be on the downfall.