A Win for Women
On Tuesday, March 8, ESPN announced that it is launching the first full-season WNBA fantasy basketball game. This marks history as the first full-season fantasy game for a major women’s sport. According to ESPN Press Room, “ESPN Women’s Basketball will offer fans a full-scale fantasy game with customizable settings for the number of teams per league, scoring formats, player rosters, and public and private league options, as well as ESPN+ Exclusive Leagues, only available to ESPN subscribers.”
It’s about time women’s sports receive their rightful spot on the court. According to an article from Sports Illustrated, “ESPN’s decision to release a woman’s fantasy basketball experience comes shortly after the WNBA experienced a significant increase in viewership during the 2021 season. ESPN announced that last year’s WNBA Finals were the leagues most-viewed since 2017.”
Over the past two years, the WNBA has really brought the heat and packed in viewers. ESPN Press Room stated that, “the 2021 WNBA Finals on ESPN Networks and ABC, the Chicago Sky’s victory over the Phoenix Mercury, averaged 548,000 viewers through four games, a 23% increase from 2020 and 42% compared to 2019. The 2021 WNBA regular season averaged 306,000 viewers, a 49% increase over the 2020 regular season and up 24% over 2019. Last season was also home to the-most-viewed regular season game since 2012, when the Seattle Storm faced the Chicago Sky on August 15 on ABC, averaging 755,000 viewers.” The 2021 WNBA season has nothing on what’s to come, and I for one cannot wait.
The WNBA marks history as the first women’s league to fully participate in the world of fantasy sports. Inside Hook reports that, “the timing of this move also makes sense as Disney owned networks will broadcast 25 regular-season games during the upcoming WNBA season with a record-trying 9 of them airing on ABC.” If I were you, I would tune in and not miss out on a major climax for women’s sports. This could also potentially change the future of women’s sports forever.
Not only is this amazing for the future of women’s sports, but also for the WNBA itself. Strategically speaking, this was great for the WNBA. It creates a new way for women, and WNBA fans to stay immersed in the game. The WNBA and ESPN are beginning to cater to a newer demographic, and I think it was finally time, and definitely the right move. This move is to create a larger fan-base, help gain viewers for the WNBA, and sparks the change for other women’s sports.
The ESPN WNBA Fantasy Draft and game will be available to partake in through the ESPN Fantasy App and ESPN.com/Fantasy. However you choose to participate, don’t miss it. I know I won’t be missing this historic day in women’s sports history! Signups for the game start at the beginning of April, before the start of the 2022 season, which begins on May 6.
The real question is who are you rooting for? I am rooting for women’s sports so I already won! Women’s basketball slam dunked with this one, and I for one cannot wait to see how this plays out!