Oct 10, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; The Minnesota Lynx celebrate after defeating the New York Liberty in overtime at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

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Game 1 of WNBA Finals shatters viewership record, becomes most-watched Game 1 ever

The previous record for the most-watched Finals opener was 1.07 million for Game 1 of the Mercury-Comets 1998 series on ESPN and Lifetime.

Oct 10, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; The Minnesota Lynx celebrate after defeating the New York Liberty in overtime at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The thrilling Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, which saw the Minnesota Lynx defeat the New York Liberty in overtime, set a new viewership record on Thursday. The game attracted an average of 1.14 million viewers on ESPN.

The previous record for the most-watched Finals opener was 1.07 million for Game 1 of the Mercury-Comets 1998 series on ESPN and Lifetime.

The wild game on Thursday saw the Lynx overcoming an 18-point deficit to beat New York 95-93 in the finals opener.

Minnesota’s 18-point comeback against the Liberty tied for the largest comeback in WNBA Finals history.

This strong viewership for the Lynx vs. Liberty is even more impressive, given that Thursday Night Football and an MLB postseason game were aired simultaneously.

According to Sports Media Watch, the Lynx vs. Liberty Game 1 was also the most-watched WNBA Finals game and the first to draw over a million viewers in 21 years.

The recent data is good news for the WNBA, which saw a sharp decline in viewership last month after the Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark were eliminated in the first round of the postseason.

Caitlin Clark’s star power boosts WNBA viewership to new heights

The Thursday night matchup between the Lynx and Liberty became the 27th WNBA telecast this season to surpass the one-million-viewer mark, setting a new single-season record.

Also Read: WNBA Expansion Breakdown: What new WNBA teams are coming in 2025?

The previous high for a million-mark viewership was 15 games, which was set back in 1998.

Notably, of those 27 broadcasts, this was only the third game that didn’t feature Caitlin Clark and the Fever, clearly indicating the WNBA Rookie of the Year’s impact this season.

The second game of the WNBA Finals will be played on Sunday, October 12, at the Barclays Center.

Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

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I work as a content strategist, specializing in creating engaging content about the NBA, WNBA, and MLB. My main focus is on writing breaking news updates, research-based articles, and covering trending topics. Right now, I’m leading the content team for the NBA, WNBA, and MLB categories at Playoffs English.