ESPN delivered its second most-watched regular-season WNBA game in thirty years as the New York Liberty-Indiana Fever matchup averaged 2 million viewers on Tuesday, August 11.
The telecast ranks as the third most-watched regular-season WNBA game ever on cable, trailing only Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky on June 23, 2024, which averaged 2.30 million viewers on ESPN, and Caitlin Clark’s WNBA debut on May 14, 2024, which averaged 2.11 million viewers on ESPN2. It also ranks as the fourth most-watched WNBA game ever on ESPN, including regular-season and playoff games.
The audience was up 116 percent compared to last year’s ESPN regular season average and peaked at 2.35 million viewers from 9-9:14 p.m. ET. The game was the most-watched program across all of TV on Tuesday night among Males 18-34.
Leading into the game, WNBA Countdown presented by Google Pixel averaged 692,000 viewers on ESPN, up 103 percent compared to last year’s ESPN regular season average.
Through 23 games, the WNBA on ESPN networks is up eight percent from the comparable point last season.
ESPN’s WNBA coverage continues this weekend with a Sunday doubleheader on ESPN. On August 16, the Indiana Fever visit the Atlanta Dream at 5 p.m. ET, followed by the Portland Fire visiting the Phoenix Mercury at 7 p.m. ET.
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