Despite all the noise surrounding the league off the court, the first game of the WNBA Finals last Friday night achieved the best viewership in league history for a Game 1.
Airing at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN, the clash between the Las Vegas Aces and Phoenix Mercury averaged 1.9 million viewers, peaking at 2.5 million. That was good for a 62 percent increase over 2024’s opening game between New York and Minnesota.
Game 1 came down to two missed free throws and a missed three-pointer in the final minute by Phoenix to deliver the Aces a win. The last WNBA Finals game to be viewed by as many people came during the league’s 1997 inaugural campaign, in which the Finals were a winner-takes-all, single-elimination affair.
Altogether, viewership for the postseason slate (aired entirely on ESPN networks) is up 16 percent this year, according to ESPN PR.
On Sunday, Las Vegas won again to take a 2-0 lead in the series. Viewership numbers have not been released for that game, which went up against an NFL slate.
The league has suffered ample distractions leading up to its anticipated championship series between league MVP A’ja Wilson and veteran star center Alyssa Thomas.
Coming off the semifinals in Phoenix, both Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve and star forward Napheesa Collier excoriated the league office over what they called poor officiating and a lack of leadership. In the background of these comments, the players’ union and team owners appear to be miles apart in negotiations over a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Yet, in spite of the fact that none of the league’s stars were around in the postseason (though Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever did go down to the wire with Las Vegas in the semifinals) and all the noise off the court, WNBA fans tuned in for the Finals.
As with all viewership data this year, Nielsen’s updated measurement system and increased out-of-home viewership tracking are showing inflated numbers relative to historical comparisons. Still, ESPN, the WNBA, and its new broadcast partners —Amazon, NBC, and Versant — will all be thrilled with a 62 percent increase over last year, which itself hit a historical mark for the league.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.