On the strength of a classic Game 1, the WNBA Finals got off to a solid start on ESPN2.
The Mercury’s 120-116 overtime win over the Fever drew a 0.4 U.S. rating and 555,000 viewers on ESPN2 Tuesday night, up 33% and 59%, respectively, from Shock/Silver Stars Game 1 last year (0.3, 348,000 viewers). Game 1 ranks as the most-viewed WNBA game on cable since ’07 (Shock/Mercury Game 4, 669,000 viewers).
Game 1 drew a 2.9 rating in Indianapolis, the highest rating ever for a WNBA game on ESPN in the market. To put that in perspective, Pacers games averaged a 1.5 rating on FSN during the 2008-09 season. In Phoenix, the game drew a 1.8 rating.
Fever/Mercury Game 1 was up double-digits in several key demographics, including a 15% rise among men 18-49 and a 176% jump among women 18-49.
For perspective, Games 3 and 4 of the ’09 Stanley Cup Finals averaged 3.2 million viewers on Versus, the ’09 College Softball World Series championship round (2 games) averaged 1.6 million on ESPN2, the championship match of the ’09 World Cup of Softball drew 797,000 viewers on ESPN2, and last year’s MLS Cup drew 907,000 viewers (albeit on broadcast network ABC).
Additionally, Game 1 is not even the most-viewed WNBA game of the year. ABC drew 804,000 viewers for the Shock/Sparks season opener in June.
