Game 1 of the WNBA Finals had to go up against the first Sunday of the NFL regular season, but still drew an impressive audience.
The Las Vegas Aces’ 67-64 victory over the Connecticut Sun broadcast on ABC averaged 550,000 viewers, the network announced ahead of Tuesday’s Game 2.
Sunday’s opener was the most-watched Game 1 in five years and up 18% over last yet.
The viewership estimate, however, was nearly 40% lower than the previous Sunday on ABC — when the Aces faced the Seattle Storm in the semifinals without competing with the NFL for viewers.
The WNBA Finals typically take place in October but had to be moved up this season with the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup starting later this month in Australia.
Game 2 of the WNBA Finals will be broadcast on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET, with Game 3 again going head-to-head against Amazon’s debut as the exclusive home of “Thursday Night Football.”
