The State Farm WNBA Friday Night Spotlight on ION on Friday night, July 11 featured a doubleheader with the Atlanta Dream taking on the Indiana Fever in the first game and the Connecticut Sun playing the Seattle Storm in the nightcap. I wanted to share some viewership highlights in case it might be of interest to cover. Let me know if you have any questions.
Viewership highlights:
- Game 1: Atlanta vs. Indiana averaged nearly 1.5 million viewers 2+ across the game, peaking with 1.8 million viewers (9:15-9:29 p.m., ET), making it:
- The most-watched WNBA game on ION this season.
- The second most-watched game on ION ever. (Indiana/Chicago, 8/30/2024, 1.6 million viewers).
- Game 2: Connecticut & Seattle averaged 470K viewers.
- Through eight weeks of the 2025 season, the WNBA on ION is averaging 595K viewers 2+, up +12% from last season (529K).
Source: Nielsen Media Research, Panel Only Data, 07/11/25, L+SD, P2+ (000s)
Season average: 05/16/2025-07/13/2025 vs. 05/14/2024-07/07/2024
FAST:
ION has a unique configuration - it is a linear television network with full distribution on cable, satellite, vMVPD and OTA; those audiences are captured and reported by Nielsen. Additionally, ION programming - including the WNBA - is also distributed live on the ION FAST channel, reaching streamers who do not use traditional sources for broadcast consumption. This distribution is often not reached by other broadcast partners and delivers a significant audience not captured by Nielsen. This audience is reported in a total “hours of viewing.”
- Game 1 Atlanta vs. Indiana was a season high of 188,324 additional HOV (Hours of Viewing) from FAST that are not Nielsen measured.
- WNBA on ION is averaging 109,642 additional FAST HOV per game this season:
- Up +27% over the first 8 weeks of last season.
- FAST viewership for WNBA on ION is growing faster than Linear.
Source for FAST data: Source: Hours of Viewing (HOV) across The Roku Channel (TRC); Cascada STV+ (Samsung TV, Mobile App, Samsung Smart Monitor, Samsung Licensing TV, and Family Hub); WURL (LG, Vizio, Xumo, Plex and Amazon Fire Channels HOV based on episode); Pluto & Amagi (CW & Tablo). (Does not include all FAST distribution partners)