Unrivaled's First Viewership Numbers Revealed

The first ratings numbers for the new Unrivaled Basketball League are out.

Jan 17, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Rickea Jackson (5) of the Mist drives to the basket past Courtney Williams (10) of the Lunar Owls during the second half of the Unrivaled women’s professional 3v3 basketball league at Wayfair Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The new Unrivaled Basketball League arrived with much curiosity given no fans knew what the product would actually look like. However, the debut was well received and the initial action made for a compelling viewer experience.

Still, the actual audience numbers were also of interest. And now we know how many people tuned in to see the launch of the 3-on-3 league.

Per a release from TNT (the network that carried the initial contests) Unrivaled averaged over 300,000 viewers for the first two games. With the viewership number peaking at 364,000 total.

That was enough to give Unrivaled the top two spots for most watched women's basketball games ever on TNT Sports, though TNT has not exactly been a hub for women's hoops in the past. The network mostly aired college games prior and the previous high was held by a contest between LSU and Colorado from 2023, per Sports Media Watch.

Opening night of @Unrivaledwbb delivered strong 💪viewership and engagement across TNT Sports platforms:

🏀 Most watched WBB games on TNT Sports platforms ever
🏀 WBB viewership record for @SportsonMax
🏀 31m views of Unrivaled content across @BleacherReport platforms

More ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/HOXR6vFFhw

— TNT Sports U.S. PR (@TNTSportsUS) January 21, 2025

Perhaps more impressive was that Unrivaled outdid NHL broadcasts on TNT from the same week.

The league did not draw at near the level the WNBA did in 2024, but those numbers were of course boosted in a very position direction by the presence of Caitlin Clark.

The WNBA averaged over 1 million viewers on ESPN and CBS Sports and nearly 700,000 on Ion during the regular season in Clark's rookie campaign. Those numbers were at 505,000 (ESPN and CBS) and 288,000 (Ion) the year before in 2023, according to Front Office Sports.

It's impossible to determine whether Unrivaled will be a success or failure based simply on one night of viewership. However, it's probably fair to say the league got off to a solid but not spectacular start when it comes to ratings.