Wings vs. Fever draws 2.5 million viewers

ESPN said on May 14 that the Dallas Wings’ 107-104 win over the Indiana Fever on May 9 averaged 2.5 million viewers on ABC, giving the WNBA one of its largest regular-season television audiences on record. The network said the audience measurement was based on Nielsen Big Data + Panel across ESPN networks. The game aired at 1 p.m. Eastern during the league’s opening weekend. ESPN said the figure made the telecast the second most-watched WNBA regular-season game ever across ESPN networks. ### Which game drew the audience ESPN highlighted? The May 9 matchup was Dallas at Indiana, and the Wings beat the Fever 107-104, according to ESPN’s 2026 WNBA schedule page. Arike Ogunbowale led Dallas with 22 points, while Kelsey Mitchell scored 30 for Indiana, the schedule listing showed. The game was part of the opening weekend slate for the WNBA’s 2026 season. ABC carried the game nationally, and ESPN said the telecast started at 1 p.m. (espnpressroom.com) Eastern. The network’s press release identified the audience as an average of 2.5 million viewers, not a peak figure. ### How did ESPN rank the number against other WNBA games? (espn.com) ESPN said the 2.5 million average made Wings-Fever the second most-watched WNBA regular-season game ever across ESPN networks. The same release said it ranked as the third most-watched WNBA game overall across ESPN networks, including regular season and postseason. (espnpressroom.com) ESPN said only two games on its networks have drawn larger or comparable audiences: Sky-Fever on opening weekend in 2025 with 2.7 million viewers, and Fever-Sun first-round Game 2 on Sept. 25, 2024 with 2.54 million viewers. Those comparisons came from ESPN’s own historical rankings in the May 14 release. (espnpressroom.com) ### What exactly did the 2.5 million figure measure? ESPN said the audience figure came from Nielsen Big Data + Panel. The press release described the result as an average audience across ESPN networks for the telecast. The Source’s preliminary account said the total reflected linear and digital viewership aggregated by the reporting outlet. (espnpressroom.com) ESPN’s release, by contrast, framed the number through Nielsen’s measurement language and did not separately break out a digital subtotal in the excerpt available through search results. ### Was the rest of opening weekend also up? ESPN said its opening weekend doubleheader on ABC averaged 1.9 million viewers. The company said that performance marked the second most-watched WNBA opening weekend across ESPN networks ever. (espnpressroom.com) The 2026 season is the start of a new 11-year media rights agreement between The Walt Disney Company, ESPN and the WNBA that runs through 2036, according to ESPN’s April schedule announcement. ESPN said that deal keeps it as a primary home for regular-season games, the playoffs and the Finals. ### What comes next on the Fever schedule? (espnpressroom.com) Indiana returned to action on May 13 at Los Angeles, according to ESPN’s team schedule page. The Fever’s next home dates listed there are May 15 against Washington and May 17 against Seattle at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Dallas played Atlanta on May 12 and Minnesota on May 14 after the Indiana opener, according to ESPN’s league schedule and team page. (espnpressroom.com) The WNBA’s official schedule page also lists the season’s upcoming games and broadcast windows. (espn.com 1) (espn.com 2)