October 24, 2026
USA Sports’ WNBA Playoff Viewership Averaging 1.4 Million Viewers, Up 39% vs. Comparable Windows in 2025
USA Sports Presents Pivotal Game 5 Monday Night at 8 p.m. ET on USA Network and CNBC as Series Shifts Back to Golden State; Pre-Game Coverage Begins at 7 p.m. ET
2026 WNBA Champion Will be Crowned on USA Sports! Up to Three More WNBA Finals Games (Games 5, 6-7 If Necessary) Live on USA Network and CNBC
STAMFORD, Conn. – Oct. 23, 2026 – 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 for Wednesday night’s Game 3 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.
The Atlanta Dream took a 2-1 series lead with a 97-71 victory over the Golden State Valkyries in Game 3, as Angel Reese continued her impressive Finals performance with 21 points and 12 rebounds in front of a sellout crowd at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
Additional viewership notes:
Game 3 viewership was up 31% vs. last year’s 2025 Game 3 (LV/PHX) and saw a 24% year-over-year gain on cable in the P18-49 demo.
Game 3 also delivered a 29% increase in viewership from Game 2 (1.33 million).
This marks the second consecutive game that USA Sports has posted record viewership, after delivering the most-watched WNBA Finals Game 2 on cable in history.
USA Sports’ 2026 WNBA playoff coverage is averaging 1.4 million viewers, up 39% vs. the comparable First Round and Finals windows in 2025.
USA Sports resumes its WNBA Finals coverage on Monday, October 26, with Game 5 live from Chase Center in San Francisco at 8 p.m. ET. USA Sports will also have live coverage for Games 6-7, if necessary, with pre-game coverage for all games beginning at 7 p.m. ET on USA Network followed by tip-off at 8 p.m. ET. NBC Sports presents coverage of Game 4 on Saturday afternoon.
Kate Scott (play-by-play), analysts Tamika Catchings and Sarah Kustok, and courtside reporter Meghan McPeak will call Games 5-7 for USA Sports.
Pre-game, halftime and postgame coverage features Elle Duncan (host) and Renee Montgomery (analyst) anchoring coverage from the site of the game, 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.
With the series guaranteed to go at least five games, the 2026 WNBA champions will be crowned on USA Sports as up to three more WNBA Finals games - Games 5 and 6-7 (if necessary) – will air live on USA Network.
All of USA Sports’ WNBA Finals 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 |
|
Mon., October 26 |
WNBA Finals Game 5 |
7 p.m. |
8 p.m. |
USA Network/CNBC |
|
Thurs., October 29 |
WNBA Finals Game 6* |
7 p.m. |
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. NBC Sports will present Game 4 tomorrow on NBC and Peacock.
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.
-USA SPORTS-
