The WNBA Finals are fully sold out of ad inventory ahead of tipoff on Saturday, which will feature the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries. Games 1 and 4 will air on NBC, with the rest airing on USA Network. All games of the Finals will be streamed live on Peacock.

In addition to its own properties, NBCU’s sports team sells for Versant-owned networks like USA. Along with the Finals, NBC saw strong interest around the WNBA at large for its first season on NBC.

Peter Lazarus, NBCU’s EVP/advertising sales and partnerships, said season-long WNBA inventory was almost sold out during the Upfront season.

“We see the official partners leaning in in a way that they embrace the sport like we haven’t seen almost any other property,” Lazarus said of the WNBA. “We’re seeing that resonate with advertising dollars where you’re seeing money pour into sports in general and the W and women’s sports, it’s just another avenue to capture those dollars.”

This WNBA season on NBC, nearly 80 brands bought time across linear and digital, with many committing more than 12 months in advance, Lazarus said. Among the notable NBC partners for WNBA coverage include American Express, Dick’s Sporting Goods, DraftKings and Ford. While not revealing exact financials, NBC said spend for women’s sports nearly doubled year over year for 2026-27.

NBC said it saw double-digit lifts in key metrics around its WNBA coverage as it related to brands, including attention (+22%), search likelihood (+17%) and brand connection (+15%).

Speaking to the strength of women’s sports, Lazarus recalled a recent conversation with a client.

“[They] said to me, ‘The belief that we have to caveat things as women’s sports is no longer needed, and that they’re simply just sports.’”

Meanwhile, the return of MLB this season also was a boon for NBC, as nearly 145 brands bought time across its baseball coverage. Among the notable partners included Adobe, Capital One, FanDuel and Ford. NBCU said close to 60% of buyers spent cross-platform over linear and digital.

Spending around NBC’s MLB coverage was particularly strong, Lazarus said, considering the late nature of the network’s deal coming together. NBC only officially landed its deal in late November of 2025, just a handful of months before the season began.

The “Sunday Night Baseball” package on NBC had its best season since 2007, and Lazarus noted that program’s symmetry with “Sunday Night Football” was a big draw for ad buyers.

“We’ve seen advertisers lean into that kind of dependency of big reach, big scale and big moments,” Lazarus said. “Sunday night we believe brings people together. It’s family viewing, it creates habits, and it’s dependable programming that both advertisers and consumers are looking for.”