Despite a fourth sweep in five years, viewership for the WNBA Finals increased dramatically on the ESPN family of networks.
The three-game Mercury/Sky WNBA Finals averaged 659,000 viewers across the ESPN family of networks, up 91% from Lynx/Dream last year (345K), up 38% from Fever/Lynx in 2012 (477K), and the most-watched WNBA Finals since at least 2006 (average viewership prior to 2007 was not available).
The Mercury have played in the top three series over that span, with their 2009 win over the Fever ranking second (548K) and their 2007 win over the Shock ranking third (545K).
This year’s series, it should be noted, was more star-studded than most. Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner of the Mercury and Elena Delle Donne of the Sky are among the most well-known female basketball players in the country.
Overall, the 2014 WNBA Playoffs averaged a 0.3 U.S. rating and 489,000 viewers on the ESPN networks — up a tick in ratings and 90% in viewership from last year (0.2, 257K).
(Series avg. and additional info from ESPN)
