The WNBA Finals this year were truly unforgettable, drawing in a remarkable number of viewers. ESPN revealed that a staggering 2.15 million people tuned in to watch the New York Liberty triumph over the Minnesota Lynx in a thrilling Game 5 overtime showdown, securing the Liberty’s first WNBA championship.
This game became the most-watched WNBA Finals match in 25 years, peaking at 3.3 million viewers. Viewership for the Finals was up by a whopping 115% compared to the previous season, which saw an average of 728,000 viewers for the four-game series between the Las Vegas Aces and Liberty.
Here is a breakdown of the viewership for each game in the series:
- Game 1: 1.14 million viewers on ESPN
- Game 2: 1.34 million viewers on ABC
- Game 3: 1.39 million viewers on ESPN
- Game 4: 1.67 million viewers on ESPN
- Game 5: 2.15 million viewers on ESPN
Notably, Game 5 set a new record for the largest WNBA audience on an NFL Sunday, surpassing the previous high set during the Indiana Fever versus Connecticut Sun game earlier in the playoffs. The 2024 season saw a remarkable increase in viewership, with 32 WNBA television windows exceeding one million viewers, including the WNBA Draft.
Aside from television viewership, both the Target Center in Minnesota and Barclays Center in New York achieved new attendance records during the Finals. The Liberty also broke their own single-game sales revenue record during Game 5.
In addition to these achievements, the 2024 WNBA Finals made history as the first to feature multiple overtime games. The Liberty’s victory marked their first-ever championship and New York City’s first major professional basketball title in over four decades.
Required reading
(Photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
