WNBA Finals conclude with record-breaking viewership figures

During the decisive fourth game of the WNBA Finals on Wednesday night – which saw Las Vegas Aces wrap up the best-of-five series against New York Liberty – ESPN reported an impressive average viewership of 889,000, marking it as the most-watched game of this year’s championship series and the most-watched Game 4 in WNBA Finals history.

This average viewership represents a remarkable 124 percent increase compared to Game 4 in 2022, which also featured the Aces in a championship-clinching match against the Connecticut Sun. The numbers peaked at 1.3 million viewers around 10pm ET as the thrilling contest in the fourth quarter reached its climax.

The WNBA Finals faced competition from the baseball’s ALCS Game 3 between the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers, which garnered an average of 4.6 million viewers on Fox. AEW Wednesday Night Dynamite attracted an average of 901,000 viewers on TBS, according to SportsTVRatings.

Leading up to the final game, the 2023 WNBA Finals had an average of 673,000 viewers, making it the most-watched series through three games since 2003. When including the viewership from Wednesday’s game, that number jumps to 728,000, maintaining its exceptional status and representing an impressive 36 percent increase from the 2022 Finals.

This caps off a successful year for the WNBA on television. The 2023 regular season reached 36 million total unique viewers and averaged 505,000 viewers per game, marking a 27 percent and 8 percent increase from the previous year, respectively. The 2023 postseason maintained the momentum by averaging 470,000 viewers across ESPN platforms, making it the most-watched postseason in 16 years.

In total, the regular season, playoffs and Finals averaged 453,900 viewers, making it the most-watched full WNBA season on ESPN platforms in 18 years and representing a substantial 10 percent increase from the 2022 season. The WNBA’s growing viewership reflects its continued popularity and growth in the sports industry.