The Indiana Fever–Chicago Sky rivalry on Friday helped Ion capture its most-watched WNBA telecast in the two years since the Scripps broadcaster acquired rights.

Ion reported that the Fever’s 100-81 victory in Chicago was seen by 1.6 million viewers, and the telecast peaked at 1.92 million viewers. It was the fifth time in 2024 that Ion eclipsed the 1 million mark, with all five broadcasts involving Indiana.

The new record for Ion isn’t much of a surprise, as Fever guard Caitlin Clark has been the WNBA’s biggest television draw all season, with her matchups against college rival Angel Reese—Chicago’s star rookie forward—attracting extra attention. ESPN and CBS traded top marks in June in the three prior matchups, with the Sky’s sole win of the regular season series on June 23 becoming the league’s most watched game (broadcast or cable) since Memorial Day 2001.

Clark and Reese also helped ABC set a WNBA viewership record—as teammates—when 3.44 million people watched the rookies help the All-Stars beat Team USA in the All-Star Game back on July 20.

Prior to Friday’s game, Scripps Sports president Brian Lawlor told Sportico that “nobody who remotely follows the WNBA would deny that Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark have had a tremendous impact on the league as they carried over their rivalry and their high standard of play from college.”

That said, for a game that ended up being a blowout, Fever/Sky IV drew a strong number considering many Americans were on the road or in the skies for Labor Day Weekend.

Clark and the Fever will appear on Ion two more times before the end of the regular season: Friday night against the Minnesota Lynx and Sept. 13 against the defending champion Las Vegas Aces. The Sky and Reese will appear on the other side of Friday’s doubleheader when they host the Los Angeles Sparks.