The WNBA has experienced tremendous growth over the past two seasons, and the ratings for the 2025 Finals continued to bear that out.
The Las Vegas Aces’ sweep of the Phoenix Mercury averaged 1.5 million viewers across four games. It was just under the record-1.6 million from last year, which included a Game 5 between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx that drew 2.15 million viewers.
The full postseason was up 5% from last season, averaging 1.2 million viewers across games. It’s worth noting that is without Caitlin Clark, whose Fever made the postseason while she was sidelined with a right groin injury.
In the past decade, the ratings for the Finals had been as low as 390,000, when the Washington Mystics defeated the Connecticut Sun in 2019. The audience hovered in the 500,000 range for the championship series since 2015, according to Nielsen, before seeing significant growth the past two seasons.
The WNBA now enters perhaps the most significant offseason since its inception in 1997, with the CBA expiring on Oct. 31 and most every player a free agent.