WNBA Finals draw best ratings since 2003

For the third straight year, the Los Angeles Sparks and Minnesota Lynx delivered a dramatic five-game series in the WNBA Finals, and this time the audience on ESPN responded like it hasn’t in a while.

According to ESPN, which aired the WNBA Finals for the 15th straight year, the 2017 series was the highest rated since 2003. The series averaged a 0.5 metered market rating, 24 percent up from 2016. Wednesday night’s Game 5, in which the Lynx defeated the Sparks 85-76 to capture their fourth title in seven years, was the most watched WNBA Finals game since 2003, per ESPN, despite going up against the NL wild-card game on TBS.

'17 @WNBA Finals on @ESPN – highest-rated since 2003, based on overnights from Nielsen. Game 5 was highest-rated WNBA Finals game since '03

— Ben Cafardo (@Ben_ESPN) October 5, 2017

We’ve got to be careful projecting a well-rated series forward or assuming this is some turning point for the WNBA. This isn’t the first time the league has posted strong viewership numbers, and while it is certainly the most successful women’s sports league in American history, it still hasn’t gained too much ground in the national sporting conversation.

Some of the strong rating for the 2017 Finals was the highly appealing matchup. The Lynx and Sparks were meeting for the third straight year, looking to break the tie in their trilogy. They were both great teams with big-name crossover stars in Maya Moore and Candace Parker as well as top players like Sylvia Fowles, Seimone Augustus, Nneka Ogwumike Odyssey Sims and Chelsea Gray. If any WNBA matchup was going to draw solid viewership, it was this one.

Obviously the WNBA is not a huge ratings bonanza for ESPN, but this series show that a fairly robust audience exists for the league. And if ESPN can draw more than half a million viewers on a Wednesday night when they have no other live rights, no one is Bristol is going to complain.