The WNBA is joining the list of leagues live streaming their games on Twitter following a three-year deal with the NBA announced last night at the company’s NewFronts presentation in N.Y. The first WNBA game on the platform will be the May 14 Wings-Mercury game and will continue with 19 more regular-season games this season and 20 games during the following two seasons. The WNBA tips off its ’17 season on May 13. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was on hand at the Twitter event to help make the announcement. The new deal follows an extension the NBA struck last summer with Twitter that did not involve live games, but created two new studio shows. Financial terms for the WNBA games were not disclosed, but Twitter and the league will participate in a revenue-sharing agreement on advertising sold around the content. The WNBA also will join Twitter’s Amplify program and deploy 40 highlight packages per week on the platform. Twitter over the past 18 months has been very aggressive in acquiring live streaming rights to pro content, including deals with the NFL, MLB, NHL and MLL, and last night announced new or expanded relationships with more than a dozen entities. However, the WNBA deal shows a notable commitment to women’s sports. “This partnership displays Twitter’s extraordinary commitment to women’s sport’s the rising popularity of our athletes and our game,” said WNBA President Lisa Borders. The deal also represents a further boost to the WNBA’s overall media exposure. In addition to the Twitter deal, the WNBA will add two additional games on ESPN for a total of 16 regular-season games. ESPN also will broadcast the WNBA All-Star Game to be held this July.
