Sunday’s Game 5 of the WNBA Finals recorded impressive viewership numbers, marking the highest rating for the championship series since it aired on NBC in the 90s.
ESPN revealed that an average of 2.2 million viewers tuned in on Sunday night, with a peak viewership of 3.3 million during the New York Liberty vs. Minnesota Lynx game. New York emerged victorious in overtime, clinching their first championship.
According to ESPN, this represents a 142% increase in viewership compared to last season’s Game 4. Front Office Sports reported that this was the highest-rated WNBA Finals game since the decisive Game 3 in 1999 between the Liberty and Houston Comets, which drew 3.25 million viewers on NBC.
The ratings for Game 1 of the Lynx-Liberty series started at 1.14 million viewers and steadily increased with each game leading up to Game 5. These ratings surpassed those of the 2023 WNBA Finals, which were previously the most watched in decades. None of the 2023 Finals games reached 1 million viewers, with the highest average viewership being 889,000 during Game 4.
How will ratings spike impact CBA talks?
The WNBA’s explosive growth this year, partly attributed to the Caitlin Clark phenomenon, culminated in record Finals ratings. Clark, the Indiana Fever rookie who gained fame in college, significantly boosted interest in the league and contributed to its success this season.
An unprecedented 2.54 million viewers on average tuned in to Indiana’s Game 2 playoff against the Connecticut Sun in September, peaking at 3.5 million, making it the most-watched WNBA game on cable.
The postseason ratings, including the Finals, proved that the league’s growth is not solely reliant on Clark. Despite Clark’s team being eliminated early, viewership continued to grow throughout the playoffs.
The heightened interest and increased revenue generation have led to a changing financial landscape, prompting the WNBPA to opt out of its collective bargaining agreement with the league. The WNBA recently announced expansions and secured a new media rights deal valued at approximately $200 million annually, up from the previous $60 million per season.
The WNBPA is expected to leverage the postseason ratings surge as it negotiates for a larger share of the revenue.
