Why Unrivaled’s ratings don’t tell the full story
One of the biggest stories in women's basketball this month has been the underwhelming ratings that the Unrivaled 3x3 women's basketball league has had in its second season.
It was reported last week that Unrivaled's January 5 opening day games averaged 175,000 viewers during its primetime window, while the afternoon window averaged 107,000 viewers. There was an average of over 300,000 viewers during opening day last season.
The initial hope was that this was the byproduct of Unrivaled competing with college football playoffs that weekend, and that it would rebound. And that's still something Unrivaled is dealing with, as their January 9 slate of games (which averaged 139,000 viewers) occurred during the Oregon vs. Indiana College Football Playoff game.
Discourse around these metrics has reached a point where several prominent members of Unrivaled, including co-founder Breanna Stewar and CEO Alex Bazzell, have addressed these ratings.
And the ratings are an important metric that can't be discounted. Yet, they don't tell the entire story when it comes to this second-year league.
Other aspects of Unrivaled to consider
For one, success can't be quantified solely with statistics. The league is still paying the world's best women's basketball players record-setting sums of money, and they have the funding to support doing so for the foreseeable future. That's a victory in and of itself, especially for a league that's focused on long-term growth and success rather than short-term.
But other statistics don't make Unrivaled's 2026 standing look so bleak. For one, league sources have revealed that Unrivaled is on track to eclipse $40 million in league revenue this season, which is more than a 48% increase from last season's $27 million revenue.
You literally can’t make this up 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/j7TrLxhYca
— Unrivaled Basketball (@Unrivaledwbb) January 6, 2026
There's also no debate that social media traction is vital. And Unrivaled's social media views and impressions were up 27% compared to last year’s opening weekend, while its overall engagement was up 6.6%.
Unrivaled is also headed to Philadelphia on January 30th, 2026, which is the first time the league is heading outside of Miami. And tickets are already sold out for that day, which proves fan interest.
It's official 🤪 Philly games are SOLD OUT!!!! pic.twitter.com/YowKvYDOzg
— Unrivaled Basketball (@Unrivaledwbb) January 14, 2026
None of this is to suggest that Unrivaled's disappointing ratings to this point are to be discarded or worthless. They do tell an important story about where the league is at right now. But it's also important to understand that the ratings aren't the be-all-end-all for this league, or any league.
Even if this wasn't the start that Unrivaled wanted, it's far from time to hit the panic button or write an obituary for this fledgling league.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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