{
  "id": 3565881,
  "title": "Fever-Sky averages 3.31M viewers, most-watched regular-season WNBA game since 1997",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/fever-sky-averages-3-31m-viewers-most-watched-regular-season-wnba-3565881",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-26T18:23:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Associated Press",
    "slug": "associated-press",
    "url": "https://apnews.com/article/fever-sky-nbc-record-viewership-a37c8e22b61b58ecfde3bc1da671b8dd"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Indiana Fever hosted the Chicago Sky in a WNBA game on August 23, 2026, that set a record for the most-watched regular-season game since the league's inception in 1997. The match averaged 3.31 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, peaking at 3.82 million. This surpassed the previous high of 3.31 million set in 1997 by the New York Liberty-Los Angeles Sparks and Charlotte Sting-Phoenix Mercury games. Star player Caitlin Clark led the Fever with a career-high 8 three-pointers and 37 points, while teammate Kelsey Mitchell contributed 30 points. The game marked the first since a previous meeting where Chicago's DiJonai Carrington was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul on Sophie Cunningham. In this rematch, there were no similar incidents, but controversy arose when former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom was ejected for exchanging words with Cloud and subsequently banned from Sky home games.",
  "summary": "The Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky game Sunday averaged 3.31 million viewers on NBC and Peacock to make it the most-watched regular-season WNBA game since the league’s inaugural season in…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 6,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Hill",
        "title": "Enes Kanter Freedom ejected from WNBA game after confrontation with player",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/enes-kanter-freedom-ejected-from-wnba-game-after-confrontation-with",
        "published": "2026-08-24T12:45:03.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Toronto Sun",
        "title": "Enes Kanter Freedom ejected after heated exchange with WNBA star: Here’s what was said",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/enes-kanter-freedom-ejected-after-heated-exchange-with-wnba-star",
        "published": "2026-08-24T15:25:14.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White are not eligible for the WNBA draft, AP source says",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/enes-kanter-freedom-and-royce-white-are-not-eligible-for-the-wnba-3123573",
        "published": "2026-08-24T22:01:34.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White are not eligible for the WNBA draft, AP source says",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/enes-kanter-freedom-and-royce-white-are-not-eligible-for-the-wnba",
        "published": "2026-08-24T22:02:54.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Associated Press",
        "title": "Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White are not eligible for the WNBA draft, AP source says",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/enes-kanter-freedom-and-royce-white-are-not-eligible-for-the-wnba-3126060",
        "published": "2026-08-24T22:23:02.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}