Social Media’s Impact on WNBA Broadcasts
The WNBA announced that they will continue their partnership with Twitter and Oculus from Facebook for the 25th anniversary season. Twitter is set to stream 12 games and Oculus will stream 20 games. This is a continued effort from the WNBA to bring in more immersive media and non-traditional viewing options for its fans.
Twitter and the WNBA enter their fifth year of partnership after they’ve seen success on the platform. On top of live steaming 12 games, Twitter will offer real-time game highlights and post-game interviews. They’ll also deliver top voices from the sports community and new ways for fans to engage.
Facebook is now in its second straight year as a provider for the WNBA. The 20 games can be viewed on Facebook Watch or Venues on Oculus Quest. The Oculus Quest is an interactive virtual reality headset that allows fans to be close to the action without being in attendance. In comparison, last season the NBA had seven games take place on Oculus. The WNBA is ahead of its counterpart in this regard due to more digitally native fans that view events on non-traditional platforms.
WNBA Twitter Live promo
Oculus from Facebook in use
Key Points of Twitter Content:
Twitter’s 12-game package includes in-game commentary from basketball insiders, influencers, and WNBA legends
As part of the WNBA’s effort to bring fans closer to live game action, game presentations on Twitter will incorporate fan tweets as an overlay, polls for fans to vote on certain elements of the game, and real-time engagements with the commentators in unique ways.
Key Points of Facebook Content:
Fifteen games prior to the in-season break and five when the league returns to action will be available on Facebook Watch via the WNBA Facebook page. The broadcasts will feature interactive elements that take advantage of the Facebook Watch social video platform.
These same games will be available in 2D through Venues on Oculus Quest headsets (both Quest and Quest 2).
A leading virtual reality platform, Oculus is an Official Marketing Partner of the WNBA and an associate partner of the WNBA’s Believe in Women platform.
At Sports Innovation Lab, we often talk about how our research has shown that technology partnerships excel when both parties are working to create a better solution. The media platforms want to continue to provide new experiences for their users and deliver a unique way to consume sports. Similarly, the WNBA is working to bring content to where their fans are and do so in a way that will keep fans engaged longer. We know Fans of Women’s Sports are digitally native, and we know they are consuming sports on the go, so leagues and media platforms need to continue to come together to deliver women’s sports content to fans.