The WNBA may have had its best attendance since ’11, but the league's TV viewership on ESPN/ESPN2 dropped to what could be an all-time low. WNBA games averaged 171,000 viewers during the regular season, down 24% from 224,000 viewers last season. The previous low was 194,000 viewers in ’12, which was a season interrupted by the London Games. Meanwhile, for across league, team and player social media platforms this season, the WNBA saw 15% growth.
The chart below lists final audience figures from select recent sports telecasts.
| TELECAST |
DATE
|
NET
|
TIME (ET)
|
RAT.
|
VIEWERS
(000)
|
| College football: Alabama-Florida State |
9/2
|
ABC
|
8:07-11:42pm
|
6.9
|
12,335
|
| College football: Michigan-Florida |
9/2
|
ABC
|
3:31-7:07pm
|
4.5
|
7,650
|
| College football: Ohio State-Indiana |
8/31
|
ESPN
|
8:00-11:49pm
|
3.0
|
5,135
|
College football:
West Virginia-Virginia Tech |
9/3
|
ABC
|
7:37-11:37pm
|
2.7
|
4,645
|
| College football: Texas A&M-UCLA |
9/3
|
Fox
|
7:35-11:27pm
|
1.9
|
3,190
|
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series:
Bojangles Southern 500 (Darlington) |
9/3
|
NBCSN
|
6:26-10:13pm
|
1.8
|
3,103
|
PGA Tour: Dell Technologies
Championships:
Final Round |
9/4
|
NBC
|
1:30-6:03pm
|
2.0
|
2,926
|
FIFA World Cup qualifier:
Mexico-Panama |
9/1
|
Univision
|
9:15-11:31pm
|
1.3
|
2,563
|
PGA Tour: Dell Technologies
Championships:
Third Round |
9/3
|
NBC
|
3:00-6:00pm
|
1.7
|
2,405
|
| College football: Akron-Penn State |
9/2
|
ABC
|
12:01-3:31pm
|
1.5
|
2,332
|
| College football: Maryland-Texas |
9/2
|
FS1
|
11:59am-4:00pm
|
1.2
|
2,046
|
| "College GameDay" |
9/2
|
ESPN
|
9:00am-12:00pm
|
n/a
|
2,045
|
| MLB: Red Sox-Yankees |
9/3
|
ESPN
|
7:30-11:28pm
|
1.2
|
1,962
|
| College football: Purdue-Louisville |
9/2
|
Fox
|
7:36-11:22pm
|
1.1
|
1,792
|
| College football: BYU-LSU |
9/2
|
ESPN
|
9:36pm-12:35am
|
1.0
|
1,763
|
| College football: Utah State-Wisconsin |
9/1
|
ESPN
|
9:00pm-12:26am
|
n/a
|
1,763
|
College football:
Appalachian State-Georgia |
9/2
|
ESPN
|
6:53-9:36pm
|
0.9
|
1,718
|
| College football: Kent State-Clemson |
9/2
|
ESPN
|
12:00-3:07pm
|
1.0
|
1,629
|
| College football: Temple-Notre Dame |
9/2
|
NBC
|
3:30-7:00pm
|
1.0
|
1,580
|
College football:
N.C. State-South Carolina |
9/2
|
ESPN
|
3:07-6:53pm
|
0.9
|
1,558
|
| "Fox College Pregame" |
9/3
|
Fox
|
7:00-7:35pm
|
1.0
|
1,527
|
"Do Your Job Part 2:
Bill Belichick & The 2016 Patriots" |
9/3
|
NBC
|
7:00-8:00pm
|
1.0
|
1,458
|
FIFA World Cup qualifier:
Costa Rica-U.S. |
9/1
|
Univision
|
6:30-8:53pm
|
0.7
|
1,302
|
PBR: WinStar World Casino
& Resort Invitational |
9/3
|
CBS
|
5:00-6:00pm
|
0.8
|
1,229
|
| World's Strongest Man Final (taped) |
9/3
|
CBS
|
3:00-4:00pm
|
0.7
|
1,121
|
| College football: UTEP-Oklahoma |
9/2
|
Fox
|
4:00-7:30pm
|
0.7
|
1,111
|
| Tough Mudder X Finals (taped) |
9/3
|
CBS
|
4:00-5:00pm
|
0.6
|
1,067
|
NHRA: Chevrolet Performance
U.S. Nationals (Indianapolis) |
9/4
|
Fox
|
1:00-4:00pm
|
0.7
|
978
|
Track & Field:
IAAF Diamond League (taped) |
9/3
|
NBC
|
1:00-2:00pm
|
0.6
|
855
|
| "World of X Games: Skate on Film" |
9/3
|
ABC
|
4:30-5:00pm
|
0.4
|
551
|
| "World of X Games: Minneapolis recap" |
9/3
|
ABC
|
4:00-4:30pm
|
0.4
|
538
|
