League continues growth with Twitter, fantasy action, more TV games

NEW YORK — Coming off one of the most successful seasons in WNBA history on and off the court, the league has found ways to try to bring in new fans.

Whether streaming games on Twitter, partnering with FanDuel to offer daily fantasy sports or just having more games on television, the WNBA is growing.

“Ithink the WNBA is doing a great job using multiple platforms to broaden their audience,” ESPN broadcaster Rebecca Lobo said. “I see firsthand how my own kids consume sports, and streaming is the primary option for them. My oldest daughter had her own WNBA Live Access account last year because she wanted to watch different games than what I was watching via my app.

“It’s a different world than the one I grew up in watching sports, and I’m glad the WNBA understands that and markets to it.”

The changes this year come after the WNBA had its highest attendance in five seasons, record marks for WNBA digital, social media and retail and double-digit growth in television viewership on ESPN.

The season starts 5 p.m. Saturday with the defending champion Los Angeles Sparks playing host to Seattle on ESPN.

Here’s a look at a few initiatives that the WNBA has undertaken heading into its 21st season:

• The WNBA announced last week that it would show 20 games a year on Twitter overthe next few seasons. The games on Twitter are exclusive to the social media platform and aren’t on local or national TV. Twitter is paying the WNBA an undisclosed amount to stream the games.

•The WNBA is entering the daily fantasy sports market. The league announced a partnership with FanDuel on Thursday — the first time a women’s pro sports league will be available in one-day fantasy games.

• The WNBA will have more games on television this season with 222 local broadcasts. That’s up about 31 percent from 2016. NBATV will show 45 games and ESPN will show 16 regular-season games as well as t the entire playoffs forthe second year in a row.