ESPN’s Audience for WNBA Draft 2018 Presented by State Farm Up +25%; ESPN2 Telecast Most-Watched Since 2014

ESPN2 First-Round Telecast Up 13%; Second- and Third-Round Coverage on ESPNU +49%

ESPN’s telecasts of the WNBA Draft 2018 Presented by State Farm, which aired on ESPN2 and ESPNU on Thursday, April 12, earned a combined average audience of 212,000 viewers on ESPN2 and ESPNU, up +25% from last year, according to Nielsen. ESPN2’s telecast of the first round, which saw new franchise Las Vegas Aces select South Carolina’s A’ja Wilson with the No. 1 pick, was the most-watched ESPN2 telecast since 2014 and garnered an average audience of 308,000, a +13% increase over last year’s viewership.

The second and third rounds of the Draft aired on ESPNU and notched a 49% increase over last year (110,000 vs. 74,000).

ESPN’s coverage of the WNBA’s 22nd season will tip off Saturday, May 20, with a rematch of last year’s Finals as the defending champion Minnesota Lynx and Maya Moore face the 2016 champion Los Angeles Sparks and Candace Parker at 5 p.m., on ESPN2.

– 30 –