NEW YORK — The WNBA announced Monday the renewal of its partnership with Twitter to stream regular season WNBA games during the 2020 season.
Marking the fourth consecutive year the league’s games will be available on the platform, live games will stream via the WNBA’s Twitter account (@WNBA). These exclusive-to-Twitter broadcasts will be hosted by alternative commentators, including basketball analysts LaChina Robinson and Ros Gold-Onwude, and will include integration of Twitter content within the digital broadcast, allowing for direct fan interaction with the commentators, says the news release.
“Twitter continues to be an integral part of the WNBA’s media landscape and providing innovation on their platform during this unique season will elevate fan engagement to a whole new level,” said WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “This continued partnership enables our passionate supporters and fans to connect directly to our game and to experience WNBA basketball from wherever they are.”
Twitter’s 10-game regular season WNBA schedule begins Wednesday, August 12, when Breanna Stewart, Jewell Loyd and the Seattle Storm take on Elizabeth Williams, Chennedy Carter and the Atlanta Dream at 10 p.m. ET (pictured). The schedule includes two more weekday and seven weekend games, concluding on the weekend of September 5-6. In addition to live games, Twitter will also run WNBA highlights and features throughout the season.
“WNBA fans on Twitter are passionate about their hoops — and these hyper-engaged fans continue to fuel an increased popularity of the league,” said TJ Adeshola, head of sports partnerships for Twitter, in the news release. “The W has been a top sports partner of ours for many years and we’re pumped to offer live WNBA games, with a Twitter twist, to basketball fans across the globe. Whether it’s a smooth step-back 3-pointer or compelling commentary on social justice, one thing is for sure — the conversation around WNBA players, teams and their fans is happening on Twitter.”
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, WNBA games this season will take place in Bradenton, Florida at IMG Academy. Each of the league’s 12 teams will play 22 games, with regular season play currently scheduled to conclude on Saturday, September 12. That will be followed by a traditional playoffs and Finals format.
In addition to Twitter, select WNBA games are also available in Canada on TSN and NBA TV Canada. American broadcasters include ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, CBS, CBS Sports Network, NBA TV and WNBA League Pass.
