| Friday’s Unrivaled debut was an unequivocal success for TV partner TNT Sports, as the opening lineup became the most-watched women’s basketball broadcast in network history. The doubleheader logged viewership averages of 313,000 and 311,000, respectively, with the first game peaking at 364,000. Big picture: In 2022, WNBA games averaged 372,000 viewers across Disney networks, with the league later surpassing 500,000 across ABC, ESPN, and CBS in 2023, before reaching 1.19 million on ESPN in 2024.As a new-look product in its first-ever season, Unrivaled’s initial numbers are promising, particularly for a league that’s prioritizing long-term wins over instant gratification.”It’s a marathon,” league president Alex Bazzell told The Athletic. “We’re not running out there from Day 1 trying to get millions of viewers out of the gate.” |