Unrivaled opened its second season this month and features several of the WNBA's best players. Its inaugural season took off quickly behind the leadership of star Napheesa Collier giving players an opportunity to compete in the off season all while still earning pay. Anticipation was steady going into year two, despite the departures of some big names. Still, many new additions arrived on the scene including the likes of Paige Bueckers, Kiki Iriafen, and Sonia Citron.
The league's first slate of games that began on January 5, however, didn't bring in the viewership numbers as expected and this certainly raises early concerns. According to Ben Pickman of The Athletic, Opening Day numbers this year averaged well below what they were last season based on viewership metrics provided in an X post. The numbers reflected an average of 175K viewers compared to 2025's 208K average viewership, a drastic and alarming decrease.
NEWS: Some Unrivaled viewership #s, per sources:
— Ben Pickman (@benpickman) January 8, 2026
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.
What makes these numbers raise eyebrows is the level of competition from one year to the next is still the same. With the 2026 WNBA season still in jeopardy one would think that fans would want an alternative source for professional women's basketball. The trends speak for themselves and aren't looking good for Unrivaled as the numbers steadily declined over the course of last season. Yes, the early hype and curiosity has worn off, but, hopefully, this is not a preview of things to come for the sport. These players, whether competing in the WNBA, overseas, or in Unrivaled, still deserve strong support from their fan base.
Fandom around the WNBA spiked historically after the arrival of Caitlin Clark in 2024 and hopes are that this support will be maintained in 2026. Clark declined participating in Unrivaled after coming off of injury that ultimately ended her WNBA season. Fans were holding out hoping she would compete seeing as how she's been missed on the court for several months. In terms of league negotiations, if a league-wide strike could be costly and have long term consequences.
Based on early viewership numbers it would appear that Unrivaled wouldn't be able to save professional women's basketball on its own. The reason behind this decrease is uncertain, but it's likely that several variables can be playing a role in it (NFL post season, NCAA football post season, NBA season ongoing). It brings on some level of disappointment, given that Unrivaled brings fast-paced 3-on-3 basketball. If an agreement is met soon, despite the deadline having already been passed on January 9, it will be interesting to see which direction viewership numbers trend.