October 29, 2026
USA Sports’ Delivered the Second-Most Watched WNBA Finals Game 5 Ever
Kate Scott (play-by-play), Tamika Catchings (analyst), Sarah Kustok (analyst), and Meghan McPeak (courtside reporter) Call Today's Game from State Farm Arena in Atlanta
Pre- and Post-Game Studio Coverage Features On-Site Team of Elle Duncan (host) and Renee Montgomery (analyst) from State Farm Arena, with Host Paris Lawson and Analysts Chamique Holdsclaw and Teresa Weatherspoon In-Studio
2026 WNBA Champion Will be Crowned on USA Sports! Both Remaining WNBA Finals Games (Game 7 If Necessary) Live on USA Network
STAMFORD, Conn. – Oct. 29, 2026 – USA Sports’ coverage of the 2026 WNBA Finals continues TODAY with Game 6 live at 12:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, E!, and SYFY as Gabby Williams and the Golden State Valkyries look to clinch the franchise’s first ever WNBA championship and Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream look to force a winner-take-all Game 7. Today’s pregame coverage begins at Noon ET.
Earlier this week, the WNBA announced that today’s Game 6, which was originally scheduled to tip-off at 8 p.m. ET, will be played at 12:30 p.m. ET from Atlanta's State Farm Arena live on USA Network. Live coverage of Finals Game 6, as well as USA Sports' pregame (beginning at Noon ET) and postgame coverage, will simulcast live on E! and SYFY. USA Network and CNBC will additionally air an encore presentation of Finals Game 6 tonight at 8 p.m. ET.
The Valkyries took a 3-2 series lead on Monday with a 64-55 home victory. Valkyries center Kiah Stokes, who tied for the team lead with 13 points and eight rebounds in Game 5, totaled three blocks on Monday, becoming the first player in WNBA Finals history to record 3+ blocks in four consecutive games. Atlanta’s Rhyne Howard led the Dream with 20 points in the defeat.
If Atlanta wins today, the series will shift to San Francisco for a winner-take-all Game 7 on Saturday from Chase Center. WNBA Finals Game 7 tips off Saturday at 8 p.m. ET live on USA Network and CNBC, with pregame coverage beginning at 7 p.m. ET.
Kate Scott (play-by-play), analysts Tamika Catchings and Sarah Kustok, and courtside reporter Meghan McPeak will call Game 6 live from State Farm Arena today.
USA Sports continues to surround the WNBA Finals with comprehensive pregame shows and extended postgame coverage. Pregame, halftime and postgame coverage, beginning today at Noon ET, features Elle Duncan (host) and Renee Montgomery (analyst) anchoring coverage from State Farm Arena, with host Paris Lawson alongside analysts and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famers Chamique Holdsclaw and Teresa Weatherspoon in-studio. Veteran WNBA Finals referee and the WNBA’s current Referee Performance & Development Advisor Kurt Walker serves as USA Sports’ rules analyst.
The 2026 WNBA champions will be crowned on USA Sports as all remaining WNBA Finals games – Games 6 and 7 (if necessary) – will air live on USA Network.
USA Sports delivered the second-most watched WNBA Finals Game 5 ever, averaging 1.4 million viewers for Monday night’s coverage across USA Sports’ linear platforms (USA Network and CNBC) and streaming on Peacock, according to official Nielsen Big Data + Panel and digital data from Adobe Analytics.
Additional viewership notes:
Game 5 viewership is the second-most watched WNBA Finals Game 5 on record, behind only the 2024 WNBA Finals title-clinching game (MIN-NY).
Monday’s Game 5 viewership delivered an 8% increase in viewership from last Monday’s Game 2 across USA Sports (1.3 million).
This marks the third consecutive game that USA Sports has posted record viewership, after delivering the most-watched WNBA Finals Game 2 on cable in history and the most-watched WNBA Finals Game 3 since 1999, which was the best ever on cable.
USA Sports’ 2026 WNBA playoff coverage is averaging 1.4 million viewers, up 30% vs. the comparable First Round and Finals windows in 2025.
USA Sports’ potential WNBA Finals Game 7 coverage on USA Network will simulcast live on CNBC. Throughout the regular season, CNBC’s game simulcasts introduced 1 million new viewers to the WNBA.
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USA SPORTS’ 2026 WNBA FINALS SCHEDULE | ||||
| DATE | GAME |
PREGAME (ET) |
TIP TIME (ET) | NETWORK |
| TODAY | WNBA Finals Game 6 |
Noon |
12:30 p.m. | USA Network/E!/SYFY |
| TODAY | WNBA Finals Game 6 Encore Presentation |
8 p.m. | USA Network/CNBC | |
| Sat., October 31 | WNBA Finals Game 7* |
7 p.m. |
8 p.m. | USA Network/CNBC |
|
*if necessary | ||||
All games throughout the WNBA Finals will also stream live on Peacock.
Last week, USA Sports delivered the most-watched WNBA Finals Game 3 since 1999 – second-best all-time and most-watched ever on cable – averaging 1.71 million viewers coverage across USA Sports’ linear platforms (USA Network and CNBC) and streaming on Peacock, according to official Nielsen Big Data + Panel and digital data from Adobe Analytics. Click here for more on USA Sports’ record Finals Game 3 viewership.
USA Sports presented three First Round WNBA Playoffs games, with coverage of the Las Vegas Aces’ 94-83 Game 3 win over the Indiana Fever averaging 2.3 million viewers across USA Network and CNBC to rank as the second most-watched First Round game in WNBA history. Click here for more.
Last year, USA Sports and the WNBA announced an 11-year media rights agreement for USA Network to present WNBA games – including the regular-season and portions of the Playoffs and WNBA Finals in select years – beginning with the 2026 season.
As part of the multi-year agreement which runs through 2036, USA Sports will present at least 50 WNBA games annually on USA Network, including coverage of the WNBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel and WNBA Finals games in select years beginning this year.
About USA Sports
USA Sports is home to premier sporting events across USA Network, Golf Channel, CNBC, and Fandango, throughout the calendar year, including NASCAR, PGA TOUR, Premier League, Bundesliga, WWE, WNBA, Pac-12 Football and Basketball, USGA, R&A, LPGA Tour, PGA of America, Atlantic 10 Basketball, DP World Tour, Augusta National, League One Volleyball (LOVB), and more. Golf Channel – the first-ever single-sport cable network which was founded in 1995 – delivers comprehensive live golf tournament, studio and shoulder programming and is the television home of the sport and industry in the United States. USA Sports is a division of Versant (Nasdaq: VSNT), an industry-changing media and entertainment business with a powerful portfolio of iconic and innovative brands, including USA Network, CNBC, MS NOW, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel, along with digital assets Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow, GolfPass, and Full Swing.
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