Twitter and the WNBA broke new ground on Sunday when it streamed the Dallas Wings’ 68-58 win over the Phoenix Mercury. The game, which was the season opener for both teams, marked the first time ever that Twitter has streamed a women’s professional sport live.
It was also the first of 20 games to be streamed on Twitter per season in each of the next three years, per the terms of the WNBA and Twitter’s partnership, announced earlier this month.
As expected from a first run, there were some hiccups. Nevertheless, the stream provided a unique viewer experience that allowed fans to not only watch, but read real-time analysis, thoughts from other fans, and see instant highlights, all on the same screen.
Here’s how it looked:
For a league that’s eager to grow its audience, it was a major step forward. Over 1.1 million unique users tuned in for the event, with an average minute audience of 62,459.
The stream was crisp and never froze, operating flawlessly from the second quarter (when they finally got the scoreboard to show) through the end of the game. Both teams integrated their in-game tweets into the live feed to the right of the video.
That allowed viewers to see moments like this, without ever having to take their eyes off the screen.
HALFTIME! Mercury hold the lead behind Brittney's 13 points. @justDROB has 8 points and 5 assists. #MercVsWings pic.twitter.com/khqb4bRk5t
— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) May 14, 2017
Needless to say, before the game was over, the positive reviews came pouring in:
Watching @WNBA on Twitter. This really is pretty cool.
— Rebecca Lobo (@RebeccaLobo) May 14, 2017
The @WNBA's deal with Twitter is amazing, breaking new ground for progress in the 21st season 👏🏻👏🏻. Just need a score listed #WNBALive
— Gabriella Levine (@gab_rose1) May 14, 2017
The next Twitter broadcast will be on Friday when the Mercury visit the San Antonio Stars. Game time is set for 8 p.m. ET. You can view the full schedule here. Future games can be found at wnba.twitter.com.