Back in 2024, Lionel Messi led his club, Inter Miami, to an MLS record 74 points, becoming the engine behind his club’s growth and Major League Soccer’s ambitions. But even Messi, and a $2.5 billion streaming deal with Apple, can’t erase the reality facing smaller leagues trying to carve out a sustainable audience. And when it comes to women’s professional basketball, that reality hits close to home for Unrivaled.

The 3v3 league tipped off its second season on January 5. While many had hoped it would build on the high visibility it enjoyed in 2025, this year’s numbers so far have cast doubts on whether it can be a sustainable business in the future.

“MLS probably gets about the same numbers, like 120,000ish on Apple TV that Unrivaled is getting,” Sabreena Merchant of The Athletic said on No Offseason.

The Argentine’s arrival helped Inter Miami generate $180 million in revenue and $50 million in operating income in 2024. The MLS saw Apple TV subscriptions more than double, along with a 13% increase in sponsorship revenue. Yet the reality is that while MLS has leaned into the “Messi effect” to tout record-breaking engagement, the numbers behind the hype are more modest.

Even with a global superstar on the field, Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass was averaging 120,000 viewers per game in 2025, according to Commissioner Don Garber, and that figure draws a striking parallel to Unrivaled, where early viewership is hovering in a similar range.

These viewership numbers are already leading to significant changes.

The MLS and Apple agreed to end their 10-year deal 3.5 years early, with bigger payments until the 2028/29 season. The news came only days after Apple ditched its season pass add-on requirement for watching live games. Instead, every game would be part of the standard subscription. The league will also switch to a winter-season model in 2027. The league made these changes to better appeal to American viewers.

So even big names and high-profile deals can only go so far in a premium streaming model. Their success depends on building a loyal core audience that actively engages with the product. But there are other ways to look at and compare these numbers.

“It could be positive in the sense that you’re comparing it to other smaller properties,” Merchant said of Unrivaled’s dip in viewership. “It could be negative in the sense of what we’re looking at in year one. But there’s just so much other context that’s affecting how the league has produced so far TV-wise, and we’re only one week in. So, I think we should probably just wait a couple of weeks here to figure out what the TV show is going to settle in at.”

Early ratings suggest that Unrivaled’s second season is already facing headwinds, with several factors shaping the league’s path forward.

Why has Unrivaled’s viewership taken a hit?

While the 2025 season drew a packed crowd of 870 fans, this year’s opening weekend saw the arena (expanded to 1,000 seats) only partially filled. And when it comes to ratings, even they reflected the same trend.

The league’s opening slate on January 5 averaged 175,000 viewers across TNT and truTV, whereas games exclusive to truTV on the same day drew just 32,000 viewers. By January 10 and 11, these numbers fell to only 71,000 across four games. And that’s a huge drop compared to the debut season, where the league averaged 221,000 viewers across TNT during the regular season and playoffs, with the 1-on-1 tournament final peaking at 377,000. But why?

Several factors are affecting viewership this season. Some of the key reasons include:

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• Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Sabrina Ionescu, and A’ja Wilson are all absent this season, limiting the league’s star appeal.
• The league’s opening weekend coincided with the NFL Wild Card round.
• NBA broadcasts on TNT helped promote Unrivaled to fans. But this season, with NBA games on other networks, that promotional boost is gone.
• The excitement and curiosity that fueled the debut year have diminished, making it harder to capture casual viewers.

However, as the season moves forward, the Unrivaled front office remains confident in its vision.

“We’re building Unrivaled for the long game, and we’re confident in our outlook, keeping in mind the same core principles and goals we set forth when establishing the league,” Unrivaled CEO Alex Bazzell told Front Office Sports on Wednesday. “We’re proud of the product we’re putting on the court each week and are going to continue growing our audience while showcasing the best women’s basketball players in the world. Leagues aren’t built overnight.”

But it’s important to keep in mind that the second season is still in its early stages, and the league’s performance can’t be judged based solely on the opening weekend.