Caitlin Clark’s Latest Injury Is a Disaster for Amazon Prime Video Partnership With WNBA

The loudest groans over Caitlin Clark’s latest injury came not from fans but from Amazon Prime Video executives and anyone connected to the league’s $2.2 billion media rights deal.Until the announcement on Thursday morning that Ms. Clark would be out indefinitely with a groin injury, Amazon Prime Video was eager to livestream the Indiana Fever’s much-anticipated showdown Thursday night against the Sparks at Los Angeles. Now, not so much.The matchup of potential playoff contenders is one of 20 WNBA games Amazon Prime Video plans to stream throughout the season as part of the landmark media rights agreement the women’s league signed last summer with Prime Video, the Walt Disney Company, and NBC Universal. Three games featuring the Fever are planned over the next eight days. Ms. Clark could miss them all.Prime Video began streaming Thursday Night Football in 2022 and was eager to invest in the WNBA, which is receiving unprecedented attention with the arrival of Ms. Clark.“We’re looking forward to providing Prime members around the world with increased access to the W’s biggest events as more and more fans gravitate toward the sport,” Jay Marine, global head of sports for Amazon Prime Video, said at the time.Based on Ms. Clark’s time injured earlier this season, fewer people gravitate to the WNBA when she isn’t in the lineup, making this an unfortunate recurrence for the WNBA and its new network partners. When Ms. Clark missed five games with a quad injury last month, national television viewership dropped by 55 percent, according to USA. Viewership of Indiana Fever national TV games declined by 53 percent.That’s a bad omen for Prime Video, which plans to stream two more Fever games in the coming week, against the Lynx at Minneapolis on July 1 and the Aces at Las Vegas on July 3.Ms. Clark may not return by then. She’s almost certain to miss Friday’s much-anticipated showdown with rookie sensation Paige Bueckers and the Wings in Dallas. Ion television now likely misses out on what might have been a ratings bonanza.The Fever coach, Stephanie White, said Ms. Clark is “day-to-day,” but don’t expect her star player back anytime soon. Groin injuries can be tricky, and rushing back too quickly can ruin an entire season. The Fever will likely be even more cautious given Ms. Clark missed the five games with a quad injury less than a month ago and hasn’t played particularly well since she returned.Ms. Clark didn’t miss a game in college or during her rookie season in the WNBA. Now she is sidelined for the second time. The Fever were 2-3 during her first absence, between May 28 and June 10. Since her return, she averaged 17.8 points in five games where the Fever were 3-2.She enjoyed a 32-point eruption in her first game back, against the New York Liberty, draining seven three-pointers in handing the defending champions their first loss of the season. But she has struggled with her shooting since enduring a hard foul against the Connecticut Sun on June 17. Ms. Clark has made just one of her last 23 three-point attempts over her last three games and scored a season-low six points in a 94-86 win over the Seattle Storm on Tuesday.Although beating the Liberty was a highlight, the Fever (7-7) has dealt with their share of adversity. In addition to Ms. Clark’s injuries, the Fever were forced to waive DeWanna Bonner, who requested her release after signing with the team as a free agent during the offseason.“Despite our shared goals and excitement heading into the season, I felt the fit did not work out,” Ms. Bonner said in a statement. “I appreciate the organization’s willingness to grant my request to move on, particularly at this point in my career.”Ms. Bonner, 37, started just three games for the Fever, missing the last five due to “personal reasons.”

Caitlin Clark’s Latest Injury Is a Disaster for Amazon Prime Video Partnership With WNBA

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