ESPN recorded its most-watched WNBA playoffs despite broadcasting only half of the first- and second-round games as the league expanded its media rights distribution across multiple networks.
ESPN averaged 1.4 million viewers for its WNBA playoff coverage through the semifinals, up 23% from 1.1 million in the comparable period last year and the network’s highest average at this stage of the postseason.
The increase came despite ESPN and ABC carrying only eight of 16 first- and second-round games, compared with all 20 games played before the Finals last season. This year, WNBA playoff coverage was also distributed across NBCUniversal, USA Network and Prime Video.
ESPN missed the playoffs’ biggest audience
ESPN did not carry the most-watched game of the postseason. Fever-Aces Game 3 drew 2.25 million viewers on USA Sports, while ESPN’s only Indiana Fever game was the opening game of the series on ABC.
That matchup averaged 2.11 million viewers, making it ESPN and ABC’s most-watched playoff broadcast of the season.
ESPN also missed an entire semifinal series between the Valkyries and Aces. At the same time, the reduced schedule meant ESPN avoided some of the lower-rated playoff games, including matchups competing directly with NFL Sunday programming.
Semifinals continue WNBA’s audience growth
ESPN’s coverage concluded with Dream-Liberty Game 3 averaging 1.435 million viewers on ESPN2, the third-largest audience of this year’s playoffs.
Dream-Liberty Game 2 averaged 1.35 million viewers, while Game 1 on ABC drew 1.17 million.
All three games ranked among the 10 most-watched WNBA semifinal games since the best-of-five format was introduced in 2016.
The four Nielsen-rated semifinal games this season all ranked inside the top 10, with the other six coming from last year’s postseason.
No figures were publicly reported for Games 2 and 3 of Valkyries-Aces, which aired on Peacock and NBCSN.
WNBA media landscape continues to broaden
The strong ESPN numbers come as the WNBA enters a more fragmented media environment.
Prime Video averaged 943,000 viewers across its two playoff games, led by 1.42 million for Aces-Fever Game 2.
NBC averaged 1.12 million viewers for Aces-Valkyries Game 1, while USA Sports carried the playoffs’ largest audience with the 2.25 million-viewer Fever-Aces Game 3.
The WNBA Finals will be shared by NBCUniversal and USA Sports, meaning ESPN will not carry a Finals game for the first time since 2000.
The distribution shift nevertheless comes against a backdrop of sustained audience growth for the league, with multiple broadcasters now benefiting from the WNBA’s expanding national audience rather than ESPN carrying the entire postseason inventory.