The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) continues its upward trajectory.
The league concluded the 2024–25 season with record-breaking viewership numbers on ESPN, Disney’s sports network.
Across 50 broadcasts, the WNBA averaged 1.2 million viewers per game, a 5% increase from last season and the highest audience average in the league’s history.
A general view of the WNBA court logo
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The games were televised on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2. During the 25 regular season games broadcast, the WNBA averaged 1.3 million viewers, marking a 6% rise compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile, ESPN’s coverage of 24 playoff games drew an average of 1.2 million viewers, up 5% year-over-year.
The 2025 WNBA Finals, contested between the Phoenix Mercury and the Las Vegas Aces, were broadcast on YouTube TV via ABC and ESPN.
The four-game series averaged 1.5 million viewers, making it the second-most-watched Finals in ESPN’s WNBA history, surpassed only by the 2024 edition.
The opening game drew 1.9 million viewers, the largest audience for a WNBA Finals matchup in 28 years.
Beyond game broadcasts, ESPN’s WNBA programming also saw a surge. WNBA Countdown averaged 437,000 viewers, up 30% compared to last season.
Despite these strong ratings and growing visibility, the WNBA now faces labor unrest.
Players are demanding improved conditions and a new collective bargaining agreement. Without progress, they are prepared to strike, a move that could inflict multimillion-dollar losses on the league.
According to sports economist David Berri, WNBA players in 2025 received less than 7% of Basketball-Related Income (BRI).
Other sources estimate that figure could be between 9% and 10% of total revenues.
Player compensation remains a central issue. Base salaries hover around $75,000, while even the league’s top stars barely surpass $250,000 annually—figures that stand in stark contrast to those of their male counterparts in the NBA.