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WNBA Finals TV audience hits 20-year high

Oct 18, 2023; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum (10) is interviewed by ESPN reporter Holly Rowe after defeating the New York Liberty to win the 2023 WNBA Finals at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

The WNBA Finals averaged 728,000 viewers per game on ESPN and its platforms, making it the most-watched Finals in 20 years, the network said Thursday.

The Las Vegas Aces beat the New York Liberty 70-69 in Game 4 to win the best-of-five series three games to one. They became the first team since the Los Angeles Sparks (2001-02) to win back-to-back WNBA championships.

The average audience across ABC and ESPN was the highest since the 2003 Finals between the Detroit Shock and Los Angeles. It marked a 36 percent increase from the viewership in 2022.

ESPN also said Game 4 averaged 889,000 viewers — making it the most-watched WNBA Finals Game 4 ever. It peaked at 1.3 million viewers late in the back-and-forth game.

The Finals pitted the top two playoff seeds in a battle of super-teams. The Aces, powered by two-time league MVP A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum and others, went 34-6 in the regular season; the Liberty, in their first season with Breanna Stewart (the 2023 MVP), Jonquel Jones and Courtney Vandersloot, went 32-8.

Overall, the WNBA playoffs averaged 470,000 viewers, making it the most-watched postseason in 16 years.

–Field Level Media

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