FanDuel Announces WNBA Partnership Extension

With Fantasy Sports enjoying a growth period right now, backed by the positive news concerning betting in the United States, we could be set for a busy period for the operators involved. That momentum will come in many forms, including sponsorship where FanDuel have been active again, announcing an extension to their existing deal with the Women’s National Basketball Association – WNBA.

Continued Backing

Under the terms of the new agreement, New York based FanDuel will continue to be the ‘one day fantasy partner’ of the WNBA but there will be added benefits to an improved contract. Having first tied in with the association in May of 2017, the operator has committed to provide Daily single-game contests to ensure that there is a fantasy option to followers on a more regular basis.

In addition, the deal will allow FanDuel to live stream selected women’s basketball games while offering extended highlights on other matches and these will be available across all of its platforms. It’s an announcement that has been described as a ‘Blueprint’ for a Fantasy Sports Experience and it’s one that has been met with enthusiastic comments from those that are directly involved.

Terrific Partner

They were a terrific partner in the inaugural year last year; WNBA games on FanDuel were extraordinary by every measure.

said WNBA president Lisa Borders as she spoke to the Associated Press.

The opportunity to stream on their platform is a new one; they are building out the capabilities as we speak.

We’d be one of the first, if not the first to stream live on the FanDuel platform.

In response, FanDuel chief executive Matt King added:

We’re making FanDuel more fun for more people, including both new and current WNBA fans, and the astounding growth we’ve enjoyed is a direct result of that.

We have seen tremendous enthusiasm from our customers for this product across other sports, especially NBA and expect it to perform equally as well for WNBA.

Groundbreaking

It’s been a quiet period in the brief history of eSports due to a number of external factors, including the proposed merger of FanDuel and DraftKings which ultimately fell through. With that proposal out of the way, the two main players in the industry are free now to enjoy sustained growth and while we’ve already seen DraftKings announce commercial partnership deals, FanDuel are now ready to develop their own agreements with bodies such as this one.

The deal with the WNBA is particularly groundbreaking as it incorporates that extensive live streaming which will bring a number of matches into the lives of many followers of the game. In return for the backing that they give to the sport, FanDuel will receive lots of goodwill but they will also enjoy the benefits of increased exposure at WNBA games up and down the country.

This is a very exciting time for fantasy sports as a whole and partnerships such as this are just the start of a busy period but for now, women’s basketball has a valuable backer while FanDuel increases its own brand awareness in a positive fashion.