List of WNBA Finals broadcasters

The following is a list of the television networks and announcers that have broadcast the WNBA Finals.

2020s

Year	Network	Games	Play-by-play	Color commentator(s)	Sideline reporter(s)	Studio host	Studio analyst(s)
2023	ABC [1]	1, 3	Ryan Ruocco	Rebecca Lobo	Holly Rowe and Andraya Carter	LaChina Robinson	Carolyn Peck and Chiney Ogwumike
	ESPN [1]	2, 4
2022	ABC [2]	1					Carolyn Peck
	ESPN [2]	2–4
2021	ABC [3]	1			Holly Rowe and Rosalyn Gold-Onwude		Sue Bird and Carolyn Peck
	ESPN [3]	2, 4
	ESPN2 [3]	3
2020	ESPN2 [4]	1			Holly Rowe		Swin Cash (Game 1–2)
	ABC [4]	2
	ESPN [4]	3

2010s

Year	Network	Games	Play-by-play	Color commentator(s)	Sideline reporter(s)	Studio host	Studio analyst(s)
2019	ESPN [5]	1–2	Ryan Ruocco	Rebecca Lobo	Holly Rowe and LaChina Robinson	N/A
	ABC [5]	3
	ESPN2 [5]	4–5
2018	ESPNNEWS [6]	1			Holly Rowe (Game 2–3) LaChina Robinson (Game 1)	N/A
	ABC [6]	2
	ESPN2 [6]	3
2017	ABC [7]	1			Holly Rowe (Game 1–2, 4–5) LaChina Robinson (Game 3)	N/A
	ESPN [7]	4–5
	ESPN2 [7]	2–3
2016	ABC [8]	1			Holly Rowe (Game 2, 4–5) LaChina Robinson (Game 1, 3)	N/A	LaChina Robinson
	ESPN [8]	4
	ESPN2 [8]	2–3, 5
2015	ABC	1			Holly Rowe	N/A	Carolyn Peck
	ESPN	4
	ESPN2	2–3, 5
2014	ABC	1				N/A
	ESPN	2
	ESPN2	3
2013	ESPN	1				Randy Scott
	ESPN2	2–3
2012	ESPN2	1, 3 and 4	Pam Ward (Game 1) Terry Gannon (Game 2–4)			Cindy Brunson
	ESPN	2
2011	ESPN	1	Pam Ward		Holly Rowe
	ESPN2	2–3	Terry Gannon		Heather Cox
2010	ABC	1		Carolyn Peck	Heather Cox and Rebecca Lobo		Doris Burke
	ESPN2	2, 3

Notes

• Game 1 of the 2016 WNBA Finals was broadcast on ABC and had 0.5 overnight rating (597,000 viewers), which was the best since 2010. ^{[9] [10]} The 5 game 2016 Finals broadcast on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 averaged a 0.3 rating and 487,000 viewers. ^[11] Average viewership in 2016 was 224,000 viewers. ^[12]

• Game one of the 2015 WNBA Finals telecast on ABC, drew 571,000 viewers, up from 558,000 for game 1 in 2014. ^[13] Game three of the finals drew 432,000 viewers, and game five drew 583,000, both on ESPN2. ^{[14] [15]}

• The 2014 WNBA Finals averaged 659,000 viewers across the ESPN channels, up 91% from the 2013 finals between the Minnesota Lynx and the Atlanta Dream which averaged 345,000. Overall, the 2014 playoffs averaged a 0.3 rating and 489,000 viewers on the ESPN networks, up from 0.2 and 272,000 in 2013. ^[16]

• The 2013 WNBA Finals games averaged 344,000 viewers. ^[17]

• Game 2 of the 2012 WNBA Finals between the Indiana Fever and Minnesota Lynx was broadcast on ESPN (games 1,3 and 4 were on ESPN2) and received 778,000 viewers and a .6 household rating. This was the highest rated WNBA broadcast on ESPN since a 1999 Western Conference Finals game between the Houston Comets and Los Angeles Sparks received 1,052,000 viewers and a 1.1 household rating. ^{[18] [19]} The average viewership for the 4 finals games in 2012 was 477,000. ^[16]

2000s

Year	Network	Games	Play-by-play	Color commentator(s)	Sideline reporter(s)	Studio host	Studio analyst(s)
2009	ESPN2	All	Terry Gannon	Carolyn Peck	Heather Cox and Rebecca Lobo	Pam Ward	Nancy Lieberman
2008				Doris Burke	Heather Cox and Holly Rowe		Nancy Lieberman and Carolyn Peck
2007	ESPN2	1, 3–5			Heather Cox and Rebecca Lobo	Linda Cohn
	ESPN	2
2006	ESPN2	All	Dave Pasch		Heather Cox and Stephanie Ready		Nancy Lieberman and Becky Hammon
2005		1–2, 4	Terry Gannon		Heather Cox and Rebecca Lobo	Pam Ward	Nancy Lieberman and Geno Auriemma
	ABC	3
2004	ESPN2	All		Ann Meyers and Greg Anthony	Doris Burke and Heather Cox
2003	ESPN2	1, 3	Mark Jones	Ann Meyers	Doris Burke	Michele Tafoya	Nancy Lieberman
	ABC	2
2002	NBC	2	Paul Sunderland		Chris Wragge and Andrea Joyce	Hannah Storm	None
	ESPN2	1	Michele Tafoya	Doris Burke	N/A	John Saunders	Nancy Lieberman
2001	NBC	2	Mike Breen	Ann Meyers	Andrea Joyce	Hannah Storm
	ESPN	1	Michele Tafoya	Doris Burke	N/A
2000	NBC	2	Tom Hammond	Ann Meyers	Andrea Joyce	Hannah Storm	None
	Lifetime	1	Michele Tafoya	Reggie Miller	Fran Harris	Persefone Contos

Notes

• The 2009 WNBA Finals between the Mercury and Fever had the highest average ratings (548,000 viewers), since average finals ratings began being recorded in 2007. ^[16]

• ESPN returned to the fold in the year 2001, broadcasting the first game with NBC airing the second and decisive game between the Los Angeles Sparks and Charlotte Sting. For NBC's final year of coverage in 2002, ESPN2 this time, broadcast the first game with NBC again covering what would become the second and ultimately decisive game. The Los Angeles Sparks' 69–66 victory over the New York Liberty on August 31, 2002, would therefore, prove to be the final broadcast of the WNBA on NBC. The league would soon thereafter, transfer the television rights ^[20] to ABC/ESPN. ^{[21] [22] [23]}

1990s

Year	Network	Games	Play-by-play	Color commentator(s)	Sideline reporter(s)	Studio host	Studio analyst(s)
1999	Lifetime	1	Michele Tafoya	Reggie Miller			None
	NBC	2–3	Mike Breen	Ann Meyers	Lisa Malosky	Hannah Storm and Ahmad Rashad
1998		2	Tom Hammond [24]			Hannah Storm	Ann Meyers
	ESPN	1, 3	Robin Roberts	Geno Auriemma	N/A
1997	NBC [25]	1	Hannah Storm [26] [27] [28] [29] [30]	Ann Meyers [31]

Notes

• The first WNBA season in 1997 concluded with what was at the time, a single championship game. The following year, the finale series into a best-of-three games series, with NBC airing the first two games and ESPN airing the decisive third game. In 1999, ESPN aired the first game of the championship series while NBC covered the following two. Come the year 2000, Lifetime temporarily assumed ESPN's role as the WNBA's cable outlet for the WNBA Championship. Like the year prior, Lifetime broadcast the first game while NBC covered the second and ultimately decisive game between the Houston Comets and New York Liberty. This marked Houston's fourth consecutive WNBA Championship.

See also

• WNBA on ESPN
  • WNBA on ABC
• NBA on NBC
• NBA on ABC
• NBA on ESPN

References

1. Brito, Santa (October 4, 2023). "ESPN and ABC to Exclusively Air the 2023 WNBA Finals Presented by YouTube TV – Las Vegas Aces vs. New York Liberty Begins Sunday, Oct. 8". ESPN Press Room. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
2. Elchlepp, Kimberly (September 9, 2022). "Disney Networks to Provide Exclusive Coverage of WNBA Finals Presented by YouTube TV – Las Vegas Aces vs. Connecticut Sun Begins Sunday on ABC". ESPN Press Room. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
3. Elchlepp, Kimberly (October 9, 2021). "ESPN's Exclusive Coverage of the WNBA Finals Presented by YouTube TV Featuring Chicago Sky vs. Phoenix Mercury Begins Sunday, Oct. 10". ESPN Press Room. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
4. Elchlepp, Kimberly (October 1, 2020). "ESPN's Coverage of the WNBA Finals Presented by YouTube TV Begins Friday, Oct. 2". ESPN Press Room. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
5. Elchlepp, Kimberly (September 26, 2019). "WNBA Finals Tip Off on Sunday on ESPN". ESPN Press Room. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
6. Chozet, Tara (September 6, 2018). "2018 WNBA Finals Tip off Friday on ESPNEWS". ESPN Press Room. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
7. Chozet, Tara (September 21, 2017). "2017 WNBA Finals Tip off Sunday on ABC with Sparks-Lynx Rematch; Playoffs Viewership on ESPN and ESPN2 up 6%". ESPN Press Room. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
8. Chozet, Tara (October 6, 2016). "2016 WNBA Finals between Minnesota Lynx and Los Angeles Sparks Tips off Sunday on ABC". ESPN Press Room. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
9. "ESPN: 2016 WNBA Finals Game 1 delivers best overnight rating since 2010". hoopfeed.com. October 10, 2016. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
10. Robinson, Sam (October 11, 2016). "WNBA Finals draws best Game 1 rating since 1998". todaysfastbreak.com. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
11. Paulsen (October 24, 2016). "Despite Classic Ending, WNBA Finals Down on ESPN2". Sports Media Watch. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
12. "Numbers don't lie". Swish Appeal. Retrieved 2018-10-16.
13. "Game 1 of WNBA Finals sees Viewership Increase from 2014". The Futon Critic. October 8, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
14. Paulsen (October 12, 2015). "More Ratings: SVP SportsCenter, WNBA Finals, NASCAR Xfinity". Sport Media Watch. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
15. Paulsen (October 15, 2015). "Ratings Roundup: WNBA Finals, Premier Boxing, NHL on NBCSN". Sports Media Watch. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
16. Paulsen (September 18, 2014). "2014 WNBA Finals Hits Multi-Year Viewership High". www.sportsmediawatch.com/. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
17. Ourand, John; Karp, Austin (November 11, 2013). "With rebound, WNBA solidifies spot at ESPN". sportsbusinessdaily.com. Sports Business Journal. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
18. "2012 WNBA Finals Schedule". WNBA. October 2012. Retrieved Sep 19, 2013.
19. "Game 2 of the WNBA Finals most viewed WNBA postseason game on ESPN since 1999". Hoopfeed.com. October 18, 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
20. "WNBA players hint at a strike". Washington Times. June 13, 2002.
21. "ESPN2, ABC Grab WNBA TV Rights". Multichannel News. June 12, 2002.
22. "WNBA Announces Six-Year Deal with ABC and ESPN". WNBA.com. June 12, 2002.
23. Sandomir, Richard (June 13, 2002). "PLUS: PRO BASKETBALL; ABC And ESPN2 To Broadcast W.N.B.A. Games". The New York Times.
24. "Retro: Western Washington, Sat. Aug 29th, 1998". Radio Discussions. April 7, 2012.
25. "The Spokesman-Review - Page 14". The Spokesman-Review. August 30, 1997. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
26. Gill, Suzanne (June 15, 1997). "HANNAH STORM CALLS THE SHOTS". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
27. Siegal, Rachel (June 21, 2011). "Storm hails WNBA's first 15 years". ESPN Front Row. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
28. Kaplan, Don (August 3, 1999). "STORM BREWING – WILL NBC SPORTSCASTER FIT GUMBEL'S GLASS SLIPPER?". New York Post.
29. Hirsley, Michael (November 26, 1997). "NBC'S NEW NO. 1 TEAM IS COSTAS, THOMAS". Chicago Tribune.
30. "NBC's Storm to Work the W.N.B.A." The New York Times. May 15, 1997.
31. Meyers Drysdale, Ann (May 15, 2012). You Let Some Girl Beat You?: The Story of Ann Meyers Drysdale. Behler Publications. ISBN   9781933016870.

External links

• Sports Media Watch: WNBA
• Episode List: WNBA Finals at TV Tango