• Loading stock data...
Saturday, May 31, 2025

WNBA Midseason Viewership Up 46% on ESPN Platforms

  • WNBA broadcasts on ESPN platforms are averaging 546,000 viewers through 13 games.
  • First-half viewership on ABC is up 18% over last year’s games before the All-Star break.
WNBA ratings are up halfway through the season.
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

WNBA viewership on ESPN platforms has increased significantly this season compared to last year, averaging 546,000 viewers through 13 games.

The network said on Wednesday that the midseason average is a 46% increase over WNBA viewership on ESPN platforms in 2022. Fellow Disney-owned network ABC has recorded 647,000 average viewers across eight WNBA broadcasts this season, an 18% increase over ABC’s four WNBA broadcasts before the All-Star Game last season. 

The WNBA All-Star Game will be played July 15 at Michelob Ultra Arena, the Las Vegas Aces home. A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Brittney Griner, Aliyah Boston, and Jackie Young were the top-five fan vote-getters for this year’s All-Star Game, which ABC will televise. The exhibition will happen as NBA Summer League games are held in Las Vegas. 

In May, ESPN announced that its Phoenix Mercury-Los Angeles Sparks season-opening broadcast averaged 683,000 viewers with 1 million peak viewers to rank as the most-watched WNBA regular season game on cable television in 24 years and the most-viewed WNBA opening night game on ESPN platforms in 11 years. April’s WNBA Draft on ESPN was the network’s most-viewed WNBA Draft since 2004.

ESPN’s broadcast deal signed with the WNBA in 2016 pays the league about $25 million per season until 2025, when the deal expires. 

“We get zero [in-broadcast] revenue compared to other leagues, and it’s absolute bull—t,” a WNBA ownership source told FOS before this season. “Now, we are in a place where we have to earn [the next deal].”

All 2022 WNBA broadcasts on ESPN networks averaged 412,000 viewers, 22% more than the 2021 season average and the most since 2006. 

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Panthers-Oilers Rematch Could Be Big in Canada. Will U.S. Ratings Dip?

Likely viewership declines in the U.S. are countered by robust Canadian audiences.
Oct 26, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) injures left shoulder whilte attempt to steal second base in the seventh inning against the New York Yankees during game two of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium.

Yankees-Dodgers Clash Draws TV Spotlight, Sky-High Prices

The teams’ lone regular-season series features three nationally aired games.

NBA East Finals Delivers Strong TV Ratings, but West Is Struggling

The Pacers and Thunder are both up 3–1 in their conference finals series.

Featured Today

PSG and the City of Paris Can Join European Soccer’s Elite

What a maiden Champions League title would mean for the French club.
May 30, 2025

How the Champions League Anthem Took on a Life of Its Own

The composer didn’t know he wrote a timeless hit three decades ago.
May 25, 2025

How Rolex Paved the Way for Luxury’s Love Affair With Tennis

“It’s almost impossible to think about tennis without thinking about Rolex.”
Mar 23, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Alexandra Eala (PHI) reacts after winning a point against Madison Keys (USA)(not pictured) on day six of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium.
May 24, 2025

Alex Eala Is Defying Her Country’s Odds to Make French Open History

The Philippines native has overcome a unique set of financial odds.
Around the Horn
May 23, 2025

Behind the Scenes of Around the Horn’s Final Days

FOS followed Tony Reali at the penultimate taping of the ESPN icon.
May 30, 2025

French Open Scheduling Sparks Backlash Over Women’s Time Slots

Coco Gauff has also said the French Open schedule could be improved.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

In Episode 7 of Portfolio Players, go inside the boardroom with Avenue Capital CEO and former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry on Giannis’s future, women’s sports, and upstart leagues like TGL and Unrivaled. 
Around the Horn - October 26, 2020
May 23, 2025

‘Quirky, Nutty, Bombastic’: 10 ‘Around the Horn’ Faces on Their Top Moments

“A quirky, nutty, bombastic, mostly wrong, sometimes right, crazy sports family.”
May 22, 2025

NBC Eyes MLB Rights, Looks to Own Sunday Nights Year-Round

The league continues to shop media rights being forfeited by ESPN.
May 21, 2025

Paige Bueckers’s WNBA Debut Delivers 121% Ratings Bump on Ion

Friday’s doubleheader averaged 612,000 viewers.
Dec 9, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) watches as center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) celebrates after making a three point basket to clinch a win against the Toronto Raptors near the end of the fourth quarter at Scotiabank Arena.
May 20, 2025

NBA Playoff TV Ratings Up 3% Ahead of Late-Round Test

Games are averaging 4.17 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, and TNT.