ESPN’s WNBA Playoffs Average 1.4 Million Viewers Through the Semifinals

ESPN networks averaged 1.4 million viewers across eight WNBA playoff games through the 2026 semifinals, a 23% increase from the comparable coverage last year, ESPN announced October 15.

The company called it its largest playoff audience through the semifinals. The average covers ESPN’s eight-game package through that round, rather than every postseason broadcast or the Finals.

The result followed a regular season in which 29 games across ESPN networks averaged 1.37 million viewers, up 17% from 2025. Five of those telecasts attracted more than 2 million viewers, according to the network’s report.

The regular-season network breakdown showed ESPN averaging 1.24 million viewers for 17 games, a 32% increase. ABC averaged 1.56 million across 12 games, up 9%. Those are separate network samples within the overall regular-season package.

ESPN also reported regular-season audience growth of 29% among viewers ages 2–17 and 27% among those ages 18–24. Its audience figures use Nielsen Big Data + Panel.