TRENDING Week 7 Fantasy Football Rankings World Series preview NBA breakout candidates NFL Power Rankings WNBA Finals sellout Story by Story by Valkyries-Dream opener most-watched WNBA Finals Game 1 in history Forward Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream will host the Golden State Valkyries in Game 3 of the 2026 WNBA Finals at 8 p.m. EDT Wednesday in Atlanta. File Photo by Mike Zarrilli/UPI Alex Butler Wed, October 21, 2026 at 3:42 PM UTC · 1 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Oct. 21 (UPI) -- Game 1 of the Atlanta Dream-Golden State Valkyries series was the most-watched WNBA Finals opener of all time, NBC Sports announced Wednesday.
The matchup, which the Valkyries won 68-64 on Saturday in San Francisco, averaged a total audience delivery of 2.1 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, based on data from Nielsen and Adobe Analytics.
That total was 11% larger than last year's audience for Game 1 between the Las Vegas Aces and Phoenix Mercury.
Game 1, the first WNBA Finals game presented by NBC Sports since 2002, peaked at three million viewers from 5:45 to 5:55 p.m. EDT.
The WNBA adopted its title-series format in 1998. A 1997 winner-take-all title game averaged 2.85 million viewers on NBC. The network said San Francisco was the top local market for Game 1, with a viewership rating of 4.49.
New Orleans, Richmond, Va., Hartford-New Haven, Conn., San Antonio and Atlanta were the other top local markets.
Game 3 of the best-of-seven game series, which is tied 1-1, will tip off at 8 p.m. Wednesday in Atlanta. Coverage is available on USA Network, CNBC and Peacock.
Source: Sports
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