WNBA playoff viewership still strong entering Finals

The following article " WNBA playoff viewership still strong entering Finals " originally appeared on Sports Media Watch .

If below the record-setting levels of Caitlin Clark games, WNBA viewership remains historically strong entering the Finals.

The first two rounds of the WNBA Playoffs averaged 970,000 viewers across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, more-than-double the same point last year (400K). Excluding three games that either featured or had a direct lead-in from Caitlin Clark and the Fever (1.86M), the postseason is averaging 771,000 viewers — still considerably above last year’s levels.

After the first round of the playoffs averaged 1.10 million (+191%), the semifinals took an expected hit from Clark’s exit — but still averaged 850,000, up 99% from last year (427K).

Friday’s Liberty-Aces semifinal Game 3 delivered the top audience of the round with a 0.60 rating and 994,000 viewers on ESPN2, marking the largest WNBA semifinal audience since 2002. Ratings and viewership more-than-doubled last year’s equivalent Aces-Wings Game 3 (0.25, 382K).

Sunday’s clinching Game 4 averaged a 0.58 and 979,000 on ABC, up 73% and 69% respectively from Liberty-Sun in the same window last year (0.33, 579K).

The full Liberty-Aces series averaged 967,000 viewers, up a third from the teams’ meeting in last year’s WNBA Finals (728K). All four games of the series averaged more viewers than any of last year’s four Finals games.

As for the other semifinal, Tuesday’s winner-take-all Sun-Lynx Game 5 averaged a 0.58 and 984,000 — the second-largest semifinal audience since 2002 and the most-watched Game 5 in WNBA playoff history, including the Finals. Ratings and viewership nearly tripled the previous semifinal Game 5, Sun-Sky opposite the NFL Kickoff Game two years ago (0.23, 358K).

Game 3 of the series drew a 0.50 and 885,000 on ESPN2 Friday night — up triple-digits from Liberty-Sun Game 3 last year (0.21, 336K) — and Game 4 had a series-low 0.32 and 538,000 on ESPN Sunday afternoon.

The five-game Lynx-Sun series averaged 752,000 viewers, marking the most-watched playoff series to ever involve either team, including the Finals.

Entering the WNBA Finals, 11 playoff games this year have averaged at least 800,000 viewers, compared to one last season. Indiana’s two games rank as by far the most-watched, with 1.84 million for Game 1 against Connecticut and 2.54 million for Game 2, followed by a Mercury-Lynx Game 2 that immediately followed a Fever game (1.22M).

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