2026 WNBA season was ESPN/ABC’s most-watched ever

The 2026 WNBA season saw a surge in viewership on ESPN and ABC, marking their most-watched season to date. Across 29 games broadcast on these networks, the average audience was 1.37 million viewers, representing a 17% increase compared to the previous year. ESPN alone aired 17 games, with an average of 1.24 million viewers, marking a 32% year-over-year growth.

Meanwhile, ABC's 12 games averaged 1.56 million viewers, growing by 9%. Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever played a significant role in driving this interest, with five of ESPN's games averaging over 2 million viewers, including a season-high 2.58 million for the August 16 game against the Atlanta Dream. This game also holds the record for the most-watched WNBA regular-season or postseason game ever on cable.

While Clark’s absence in non-Fever games on ESPN/ABC resulted in an average of 984,000 viewers, an increase of 24% year-over-year, their WNBA Countdown show averaged 595,000 viewers, up 27% from the previous season. ESPN/ABC's performance placed them second (and third) among WNBA broadcasters, trailing only NBC, which averaged 1.75 million viewers across its seven-game schedule, including a 3.3 million average for their August 23 game between the Fever and Chicago Sky.

CBS completed the top four with 1.275 million viewers for its 20-game WNBA package, a 9% increase from the previous year's nine-game run. The game drew 2.58 million viewers via Nielsen and Adobe Analytics. Completing the top five, ION, owned by Scripps, averaged 617,000 viewers, while Prime Video attracted 437,000 viewers.