Broadcasters NBC and USA Sports are reporting record-breaking viewership for the 2025 WNBA Finals.. However, these claims rely on combining television and streaming figures, making it difficult to compare current success against previous years .
The 14% increase claim vs. the ESPN 2024 benchmark
NBC reported a combined audience of 1.9 million for Game 6, which they claim represents a 14% increase over the 1.67 million viewers who watched the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx on ESPN in 2024.. As the report notes, this "record" is achieved by merging traditional television viewership with streaming data from platforms like Peacock.
This blending of data creates a lack of transparency regarding how many people actually watched on a screen versus a digital device. For example, while NBC's television-only audience for one game reached 1.66 million, the addition of 232,000 streaming viewers—measured separately by Adobe Analytics—is what pushed the total past the previous mark. Without a clear breakdown,it is impossible to tell if the WNBA is truly growing its linear TV base or simply migrating existing fans to Peacock.
Nielsen’s 2025 "Big Data + Panel" and wearable audio tracking
The transition to Nielsen's new measurement standards in 2025 makes direct comparisons to previous years nearly impossible. nielsen has implemented a "Big Data + Panel" system that integrates household panels with data from 45 million smart TVs and set-top boxes. This shift means the 2024 ESPN figures were generated under an entirely different mathematical framework.
Furthermore, Nielsen expanded its out-of-home measurement in 2025 to cover 100% of the contiguous U.S. television population, including bars and restaurants. The company also introduced the use of wearable devices that pick up television audio to better capture how many people are watching together. While Nielsen claims these changes improve accuracy, the report suggests that better measurement might simply be capturing people who were already watching, rather than identifying brand-new fans.
The 35% drop in Game 5 viewership compared to 2024
The structural change in the WNBA Finals from a best-of-five to a best-of-seven series in 2025 also alters how viewership is perceived. In 2024, the Game 5 matchup was a winner-take-all clincher that drew 2.15 million viewers on ESPN. in contrast, the 2025 Game 5 saw 1.4 million viewers across USA Network, CNBC, and Peacock, a figure roughly 35% lower than the previous year's clincher.
This specific game also faced significant competition from major sporting events, including the Cowboys-Eagles game on Monday Night Football, which drew 18.8 million viewers, and the World Series, which pulled in 8.3 million. Despite the lower total compared to the 2024 clincher , USA Sports highlighted that the game saw an 8% increase over Game 2 of the current series.
The mystery of the unverified Adobe Analytics streaming figures
Significant questions remain regarding how streaming audiences are calculated and verified by third parties.. The broadcasters cite Adobe Analytics for their streaming numbers, but the report highlights that they have not identified who independently verified these figures or provided the underlying data. Adobe's software allows users to choose specific reporting windows and decide whether viewing time includes commercials, adding another layer of potential variability.
There is also a procedural concern regarding how these metrics are presented. According to the report, Nielsen has previously advised clients that mixing internal or third-party data with Nielsen metrics to make comparative statements in the press is not permissible. NBC and USA Sports have yet to explain how they matched Adobe's streaming calculations with Nielsen's television measurements to reach their combined totals.
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