ESPN posts highest WNBA overnight rating for a regular-season game since 2011

According to ESPN, Saturday’s tipoff of the 2016 WNBA season was the highest-rated, regular-season WNBA game on the network (excluding ABC) since 2011, and the highest-rated, regular-season weekend WNBA game on the ESPN networks (excluding ABC) since 2005. The 7:30 p.m. ET telecast between the Minnesota Lynx and Phoenix Mercury delivered a 0.4 overnight rating.

The top five markets for the tipoff:

• Minneapolis-St. Paul (1.6)
• Memphis (1.4)
• New Orleans (1.1)
• Albuquerque-Santa Fe (0.9)
• Dayton, Ohio (0.8)