WNBA Finals Most Viewed In 25 Years Despite Possible Aces Sweep

The WNBA Finals continue to post strong viewership through three games.

The Aces have dominated the Mercury thus far, winning all three games ahead of Friday night’s potential clincher in Phoenix.

In its first time using a best-of-seven format, the WNBA Finals have averaged:

• Game 1: 1.9 million viewers; peak of 2.5 million viewers.
  
• Game 2: 1.2 million viewers; peak of 1.4 million.
  
• Game 3: 1.3 million viewers; peak of 1.6 million.

Games 1 and 3 were on ESPN and Game 2 was on ABC. Friday night’s Game 4 will be on ESPN. At 1.5 million viewers, the series through three games is averaging 13% more viewers than they were last year. That makes it the most-viewed series through three games since 2000, a two-game sweep that posted 1.54 million viewers. The playoffs as a whole have averaged 1.2 million viewers, a 14% increase from last year.

The WNBA playoffs compete for eyeballs with several major sports TV draws. Through three games, the Finals overlapped with NFL and college football games, MLB playoffs, and the start of the NHL season.

Last year’s Game 5 overtime thriller between the Liberty and Lynx averaged 2.2 million viewers, the largest audience for a Finals game since 2000. The inaugural 1997 championship game holds the record for the most-viewed Finals game at 2.8 million viewers on NBC.

Audience metrics are getting a bump this year from Nielsen, which recently changed its tracking methods to include set-top boxes and smart TVs. Sports have enjoyed the ratings boost, particularly college football and the NFL.

These games are some of the last ones on the WNBA’s current media deal. The league will begin its new 11-year, $2.2 billion agreement next season with ESPN, NBC, and Amazon, which will rotate Finals coverage. USA Network will also get some Finals games through a new deal the league announced last month with Versant, Comcast’s cable spinoff.

The other big offseason change will be whatever comes of collective bargaining agreement negotiations. The current CBA expires Oct. 31, and the players’ association and league remain far apart on negotiations. Whenever a new agreement is reached, it will kick off a wild period of free agency, as the vast majority of veteran players signed contracts ending this season.