Game 7 of the WNBA Finals, which saw the Golden State Valkyries defeat the Atlanta Dream 68-63 to clinch the championship, attracted more than 3.3 million viewers across USA Network, CNBC, and Peacock. This viewership figure represents the highest number for a WNBA game in nearly three decades, potentially the most-watched since the league's inaugural season in 1997, according to preliminary data.
The seven-game series itself averaged 1.89 million viewers across its broadcast and streaming platforms, setting a new record for the most-watched WNBA Finals in league history. This surpasses the previous record held by the 2024 Finals between the Lynx and the Liberty, which averaged 1.5 million viewers per game.
The series opener between the Valkyries and the Dream recorded 2.1 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, establishing a new benchmark for viewership of a WNBA Finals Game 1. Even Game 6, which was moved to an early afternoon slot, drew 1.5 million viewers.
These record-setting numbers for the Finals follow a historic regular season for the WNBA. The league reported a total reach of over 90 million unique viewers across national networks. The number of games averaging at least 1 million viewers surged to 51, nearly tripling the 19 games that achieved that milestone in 2025. ESPN's average audience for the season saw a 32 percent increase, reaching 1.24 million viewers, while ABC and CBS also reported their most-watched WNBA seasons on record.
