What the WNBA tells us about the future of fan engagement
David Dembowski, SVP at Operative, looks at how the WNBA has transformed from a niche league fighting for airtime into one of the fastest-growing sports properties, and what its trajectory reveals about the future of fan engagement.
After Caitlin Clark ignited interest in women’s basketball, many people assumed it was a fluke, but the dramatic rise in women’s basketball keeps going. Last year’s WNBA all star game attracted more than 10 million viewers, a 538% increase over the year before. This year, typical WNBA viewership is up another 23% year over year.
The beauty of watching a sport capture the country’s attention so quickly is that the entire sports world is watching in real time which new forms of content and engagement work, providing an opportunity to improve fan engagement in even the oldest and most traditional sports.
A combination of personalized engagement, multi-platform content and updated advertising technology gives media companies the reach, attention and agility they need to succeed in the
future.
Elevating players across channels
For most of sports history, direct fan engagement with players was limited to getting an autograph on the sidelines. Players would be interviewed after a game, or for a big feature in a magazine, but their personalities and personal lives were largely secondary to their stats save for a few big stars.
Today, many of the WNBA’s best players spend hours each week on social media, providing a personal view of their life, connecting with fans in new ways. Basketball star Angel Reese has more than 5 million fans on both TikTok and Instagram, sharing everything from feelings about her injuries to getting dressed for a night out. This not only gives Reese a platform of her own for increasing her relationship with fans, it reframes her sport as one that becomes more personal. Like rooting for a friend on the sidelines at a high school game, fan engagement adds levels of connection that fans are embracing.
While individual stars can benefit from creating direct relationships with fans, teams and even sports organizations can connect with audiences on social media, too. A comprehensive study of the importance of leveraging social media to connect with fans notes the increasing demand for continuous engagement. Social media not only delivers a more constant connection, it increases emotional investment, and provides an opportunity to deepen expertise and knowledge. The more fans engage, the more they know and the more they care about the sport and the players.
Media companies can deliver “always on” experiences between games and even off season with a content plan that digs deeper. Teams can provide behind-the-scenes clips during training season, introduce new team members or new coaches with interviews and educate about the game such as this video about new NFL rules going into effect.