Shifted to primetime at the last minute, Sunday’s Game 1 of the 2011 WNBA Finals had a modest rise in viewership on ESPN.
Game 1 between the Dream and Lynx earned a 0.30 U.S. rating and 491,000 viewers on ESPN Sunday night, down 9% in ratings but up 9% in viewership compared to last year (ATL/SEA G1: 0.33, 450K, ABC), and down 19% and 12%, respectively, compared to 2009 (IND/PHX G1: 0.37, 555K, ESPN2).
Last year’s game aired on a Sunday afternoon on ABC; the 2009 game aired on a Tuesday night on ESPN2.
Sunday’s game was originally scheduled to air at 4:30 PM ET on ESPN2, but was moved to 8:30 PM on ESPN.
(Information from ESPN)
