Unrivaled entered 2026 aiming to continue the momentum it created in 2025, when its first season produced strong early results. However, the league’s second season struggled to maintain this traction. While competition from NFL Wild Card games was expected to impact viewership, the sharp decline in viewership exceeded projections and caused serious concerns within the league.
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“20,000 and 30,000 viewers. I believe it’s for the 18-49 age group. It’s bad, bad. In my opinion, the WNBA and the hype surrounding it and the players have taken a nosedive,” reads the post’s caption. “I guess when new fans come, you should welcome them instead of treating them like you did.”
The Mist vs. Rose match averaged about 20,000 viewers on TNT, while Phantom vs. Vinyl averaged about 30,000 on TruTV, numbers well below expectations.
Since the first game of the season, there have been concerns about the league’s viewership. The inaugural game between Mist and Hive only attracted an average of 175,000 people, compared to 3,12,000 last year. Since the first match, the audience has seen a sharp decline, with the latest figures showing 20,000 to 30,000 viewers.
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The absence of star players like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese played a big role in this sharp drop in viewership. Even though young prodigies like Paige Bueckers participate in the tournament, the 3-0n-3 tournament is not the same without the world stars. The league has always addressed these challenges and tried several ideas, but nothing seems to work in this market.
On January 21, the league also announced a $300,000 prize pool for its 1v1 tournament to attract more eyeballs. However, for now, nothing is going in Unrivaled’s favor as viewership continues to plummet. In the midst of this worrying decline Unrivaled audiencesupporters expressed their reactions on its possible reasons and on the sustainability of the league.
Fans highlight reasons for Unrivaled’s viewership decline
Fans were quick to point out the absence of big-name players like Caitlin Clark as a possible cause for Unrivaled’s low viewership. “It’s because CC isn’t playing, no one cares,” one fan commented on the post. There is absolutely no reason to dismiss him as a possible reason, as Clark’s impact on the basketball audience is undeniable.
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Caitlin Clark’s arrival in the WNBA in 2024 sparked a historic popularity surge, characterized by a 300% increase in television audiences and a 48% increase in league-wide attendance, the highest level in two decades. It attracted 33.5% of the WNBA’s total attendance in 2024, leading to an 87% increase in opponents’ home attendance.
Naturally, Unrivaled also contacted Clark to come on the second season of Unrivaled with a lucrative offer. Although the financial details were not reported in the media, reports suggest that he offered a handsome salary with revenue sharing. However, Clark opted out of the league to focus on her fitness after an injury-plagued WNBA season.
“Yeah, that’s scary…I wonder how long their contract with TNT is? I know they regret getting involved with an unrivaled rival,” another fan commented.
If reports are to be believed, Unrivaled has signed a 6-year, $100 million associated revenue deal with Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) for its games to appear on linear channels TNT and truTV as well as streaming service Max.
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While there are reports of other financial contingencies tied to the deal, TNT’s parent company, Discovery, also has a clause that allows it to distance itself from the deal after three years. This decline therefore constitutes a significant setback for their broadcast agreement with TNT, signaling a major concern for them.
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“This whole CBA thing is hurting their league. People SHOULD be focusing on the WNBA right now, with the free agency signings, schedules, and contracts. But no one even knows where these players are going to play, and they themselves killed the momentum they had,” one fan commented.
While a section remains busy at Unrivaled, uncertainty around the WNBA is growing immensely. The WNBA-CBA has not yet been reached and the league business is on pause. The free agency signing period for teams was also halted, leaving many players, including A’ja Wilson, uncertain about their team’s next season. Amid the difficult situation surrounding the WNBA, the Unrivaled craze has definitely taken a backseat.
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“The future of alternative WNBA leagues is certainly not without equal. Project B has a much better chance of succeeding than this,” one fan said. “Their opinions have already dropped since last season. In my opinion, one or the other explanation is that the market is not happy with the product,” added another.
Unrivaled was created with the idea of creating a women’s basketball league parallel to the WNBA. The growth of other leagues, such as Project B, which is expected to start next year, poses a threat to the very core of Unrivaled, which is the exclusive league outside of the WNBA.
Notably, several high-profile players, including Alyssa Thomas and Kelsey Mitchell, have joined the upcoming Project B. This suggests they won’t be returning to Unrivaled next year, meaning the 3v3 competition is also losing players to its rivals. In the absence of high profile players like Clark, Angel Reese or Thomas, the league will automatically lose its advantage over other sports leagues.
So the league’s owners, including Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, have a big job to do to make the 3-on-3 tournament attractive. The league’s priority should be to recruit more stars. Players will bring their fans to Unrivaled. However, to achieve this, the league will need to take the necessary steps, which may include funding or external efforts. If these concerns are not addressed, they may pose a significant threat to the continued existence of the league.
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