The inaugural season of Unrivaled is not proving a hit with basketball fans after the new three-on-three women’s league announced underwhelming viewing figures for its opening night.
Unrivaled got underway Friday night with two live games televised on TNT Sports, albeit without WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark in its ranks.
Clark, who brought unprecedented attention to the WNBA during her rookie season in 2024, opted not to take part in the breakaway competition despite being offered a staggering $1million to do so.
And after being snubbed by the biggest name in women’s basketball, Unrivaled has ultimately paid the price.
According to Front Office Sports, Friday’s launch night peaked at an average of just 364,000 viewers across TNT Sports and truTV, which is well below what the WNBA registered in 2024.
An average of 1.19 million viewers tuned into ESPN during the WNBA regular season, albeit mainly to watch Clark in action for the Fever.
The opening night of Unrivaled peaked at an average of just 364,000 viewers Friday night
The new women’s league has paid the price for not landing WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark
The year before she entered the big leagues, an average of 505,000 viewers watched the top tier of women’s basketball in the US on ABC, ESPN, and CBS.
Despite landing big names such as Angel Reese, Sabrina Ionescu, Brittney Griner, Cameron Brink and more, Unrivaled chiefs tempered expectations before Friday’s opening night.
‘We don’t expect to go get the same numbers the WNBA does,’ league president Alex Bazzell told Front Office Sports. ‘We’re just trying to deliver a great product, which I know we can do.’
Unrivaled got up and running on Friday with two games as Napheesa Collier’s Lunar Owls team took down Breanna Stewart’s Mist, before Arike Ogunbowal’s Vinyl got the better of Angel Reese’s Rose.
The new competition aired Friday on TNT, before coverage continued Saturday on truTV. Its opening weekend then concluded Monday night back on TNT.
Despite the seven-figure offer, Clark decided to continue recharging her batteries in the WNBA offseason instead of taking part in Unrivaled.
The Indiana Fever sensation took in some NFL playoff action over the weekend after heading to Kansas City to watch her beloved Chiefs take on the Houston Texans.
Clark joined Taylor Swift, the high-profile girlfriend of Chiefs star Travis Kelce, in her private suite at Arrowhead as the hosts ran out 23-14 winners.
The pair were captured sitting together as Kelce helped Kansas City claim a precious victory, while they were even seen hugging in celebration at one stage after he scored a touchdown.
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