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WNBA playoff viewership is off to a record start.
The first round of the WNBA playoffs averaged 1.3 million viewers over 10 games on ESPN, Prime Video, and USA Network, the league announced Tuesday, making it the most-watched opening round in history.
Viewership is up 37% compared to last year, when the first round drew an average of 944,000 people over 11 games on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2. It’s also up 17% compared to 2024’s first-round ratings record of 1.1 million average viewers over eight games. That was Caitlin Clark’s rookie year and the first time she ever played in the playoffs.
The do-or-die Game 3 between the Las Vegas Aces and Indiana Fever on Thursday was the most-watched game of the first round, drawing 2.3 million viewers. That’s the second-most-watched first-round game ever behind Game 2 of the 2024 series between the Fever and Connecticut Sun, which drew 2.5 million viewers.
The 2026 WNBA Playoffs are the league’s first since signing a new media rights deal worth more than $3 billion. ESPN previously had exclusive rights to the playoffs, but this new deal splits the postseason among four partners: ESPN, Amazon, NBC, and Versant.
The playoff numbers come after another strong regular season for the WNBA, which also saw continued viewership growth across many of its broadcast partners. ESPN was up 17% compared to last year, while CBS saw a 9% increase.
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