The WNBA App changes the game for fans
The WNBA App built by Deloitte reimagined the fan experience.
THE SITUATION
The Women’s National Basketball Association's (WNBA's) on-court momentum has been undeniable. Record-breaking performances, rising viewership, and a new generation of fans have propelled the league into one of the most dynamic growth phases in its history.
But as fan engagement surged, the league faced a critical inflection point. Its digital ecosystem was not keeping pace with fan expectations or the league’s own expanding business ambitions.
In 2020, the WNBA operated a league website and mobile app for livestreaming games. Fans wanted much more: personalized highlights, real-time stats, curated storytelling, and access to the players and moments they care about most. The WNBA realized that new digital experiences shaped by these evolving expectations could strengthen direct-to-fan relationships, increase retention and lifetime value, and expand League Pass subscriptions. Keeping fans within the WNBA’s own ecosystem rather than on third-party platforms could also unlock deeper first-party data insights and create scalable sponsorship and monetization opportunities.
The league needed more than just an app refresh. It needed a future-ready digital strategy built to evolve as quickly as the game itself.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL IS TURNING A BREAKAWAY MOMENT INTO A NEW ERA FOR FANS.
THE SOLVE
The WNBA turned to Deloitte’s deep industry experience, technology capabilities, and IndustryAdvantage™ approach to help design and execute a digital transformation anchored in long-term growth, not a one-time release. The integrated team conducted proprietary fan research and competitive benchmarking to inform a multiyear digital strategy and product roadmap. Deloitte software engineers and mobile developers re-architected the app ecosystem for scalability and built a modular, data-driven infrastructure to support advanced personalization. Throughout the process, the team implemented continuous analytics, testing, and rapid feature deployment cycles to respond quickly and flexibly to evolving needs.
The reimagined WNBA App launched in 2022 and changed the game for fans. But that was just the beginning. In the years since the launch, the platform has operated as a living system. Deloitte and the WNBA Digital Products team continuously analyze fan behavior, gather feedback through surveys and social listening, and translate insights into iterative product enhancements. Steady releases introduce new personalization capabilities, refined onboarding experiences, expanded content formats, enhanced statistics integration, sponsorship enablement features, and strengthened cybersecurity protections.
Rather than designing for a single season, the integrated Digital Products team engineered the mobile app to evolve in real time alongside fan expectations, league growth, and commercial strategy. Beyond a successful app launch, the WNBA has now an embedded digital operating model that enables ongoing innovation and sustained competitive advantage.
THE IMPACT
The app continues to deliver for both fans and the league.
Fans can get closer to what they love about the teams, players, and league and move from curious to casual to core fandom with the latest league news, must-see moments, player spotlights, and behind-the-scenes content tailored to their personalized interests. All in one place, all unique to the WNBA App built by Deloitte. The WNBA has a powerful tool to help strengthen its brand, engage with fans in a deep way, enhance commercial activation opportunities, access real-time analytics to drive future decisions, and keep fans within the WNBA ecosystem rather than lose them to third-party platforms—all helping to drive an industry advantage.
When 2024 brought the league’s most-watched full season in 27 years¹, the fan-focused digital experience amplified the on-court action—helping to make the WNBA the fastest-growing brand in the United States in 2024² and setting it up to keep growing.
From 2023 through 2025³:
- App downloads increased by nearly 119%
- Monthly active users grew by 365%
- League Pass in-app subscriptions rose by 491%
Today, the integrated Deloitte–WNBA Digital Products team continues to evolve the platform, deploying new capabilities as fan expectations shift and new content and monetization opportunities emerge. As Devin Ward, Head of WNBA Digital, noted: “The digital app foundation that Deloitte has helped us build is not only empowering us to shape the present, but also gives us the flexibility to adapt and thrive in the exciting future ahead.”
The WNBA’s journey reveals a broader blueprint for modern sports and media: Sustained growth requires more than cultural relevance. It requires the digital infrastructure to convert attention into true loyalty and long-term enterprise value. Together, Deloitte and the WNBA have built a platform designed for both today’s fans and the future of fandom.
WORLD-CLASS WNBA TALENT ON THE COURT NOW HAS THE DIGITAL EXPERIENCE TO MATCH—WHEREVER THE GAME GOES NEXT.
¹ WNBA, internal and owned research, September 2025.
² Grant Young, “WNBA Ranked as Fastest Growing Brand of 2024,” SI.com/Sports Illustrated, December 9, 2024, https://www.si.com/onsi/womens-fastbreak/news/wnba-ranked-as-fastest-growing-brand-of-2024-01jep3jxr4hb, accessed April 2, 2025.
³ WNBA, internal and owned research, September 2025.
Li-Shen Lee
Chad Deweese
Kat Harwood
