Unrivaled's Viewership Numbers Raise Early Red Flags

Unrivaled's opening viewership numbers for the 2026 season aren't looking great.

Brittney Griner, with the Phantom, celebrates a score on February 17, 2025. | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Unrivaled had an objectively successful debut season in 2025. There was a lot of interest in how the league would fare, given that many of the world's best women's basketball players were competing in it. And all those invested in Unrivaled in one way or another would likely say that this first season delivered.

However, perhaps even more telling is how the league will do in its 2026 season, which started on January 5. The novelty and curiosity factor from last year has now worn off, and several top stars from last season (including Angel Reese and Sabrina Ionescu) aren't playing, and neither are Caitlin Clark or A'ja Wilson.

That said, there are still plenty of superstars competing in the league, and the quality of play is top-tier. But the ratings will tell the clearest picture of what the hype around Unrivaled would look like.

Mar 17, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Rose BC guard Chelsea Gray (12) looks on after scoring against the Vinyl BC during the fourth quarter of the Unrivaled Championship game at Wayfair Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Early Unrivaled ratings don't look good

On January 7, Ben Pickman of The Athletic made an X post conveying the viewership metrics for Unrivaled's Monday slate of games.

"Unrivaled Opening Day on Monday averaged 175K viewers during its primetime window of games

Afternoon window averaged 107K viewers

"All that is down from 208K average viewership during regular season games in Unrivaled Y1," Pickman wrote in the X post.

NEWS: Some Unrivaled viewership #s, per sources:

Unrivaled Opening Day on Monday averaged 175K viewers during its primetime window of games

Afternoon window averaged 107K viewers

All that is down from 208K average viewership during regular season games in Unrivaled Y1.

— Ben Pickman (@benpickman) January 8, 2026

In contrast, Unrivaled's opening weekend last year averaged over 300,000 viewers for the first two games. The viewership peaked at 364,000 total. Viewership declined as the season progressed, but it was never as poor as it was on Monday. And given that viewership declined progressively last season, one would imagine that the same would occur this season, as well.

Of course, this would be owed to several things. Much of the broader sports world is focused on the college football playoffs and the NFL right now, and the upcoming Olympics are sure to get a bunch of attention. Not to mention that the ongoing WNBA CBA negotiations are taking some steam out of women's basketball as a whole.

Still, these are objectively poor viewership ratings, especially for an opening slate. And this raises some red flags about Unrivaled moving forward this season.

This will be an interesting story to follow across the next couple of months. Given that Project B (which will be Unrivaled's primary competition for WNBA offseason leagues) will begin playing games at the end of this year, Unrivaled would be wise to capitalize on this headstart.