Into the Numbers: 2025 WNBA Schedule Release

Best Practices

Go “All In” on Schedule Release

The NFL has mastered the art of schedule releases, turning an annual event into a highly anticipated spectacle that drives massive engagement across social media and beyond. The WNBA can, and seemingly has, take a page from this playbook by going “all in” on their schedule release.

The impressive year-over-year metrics from this year’s WNBA schedule release show the incredible potential for growth when the league embraces a larger, more dynamic approach to its marketing. This year, WNBA and team posts generated 6.1x more impressions, 3x more engagement, and 3.9x more social value compared to last year’s schedule release. These numbers highlight the significant impact that strategic content and fan-focused promotion can have.

Worth noting, the WNBA took an aggressive approach with Instagram collab posts, making sure to amplify every club’s content on schedule release day. 

Embrace of Local Community Passions Can Lead to Enhanced Performance

The Atlanta Dream’s success in the 2025 WNBA schedule release on social media is a testament to the power of community connection. By aligning its content with the passions and interests of its local fanbase – like celebrating Atlanta’s rich culture – the Dream fostered a deeper sense of connection and pride with its audience. Paired with clever nods and references for fans, the localized approach resulted in Atlanta ranking among the Top 5 WNBA teams for total social impressions across Facebook, Instagram, and X on schedule release day.

Similarly, the Seattle Storm produced their schedule release video at a locally owned business, Scarecrow Video – another way to showcase the deep relation a sports team has with its local community. Seattle followed up the video with a series of photoshopped movie posters, culminating in a league-leading social engagement rate across Facebook, Instagram, and X.

Why TikTok is a Best Practice for WNBA Schedule Release

TikTok has emerged as a powerhouse for reaching and engaging sports fans, especially younger audiences. With its viral potential driven by a more casual style of video content, TikTok has aligned well with an emerging league like the WNBA that thrives on building community and fan connection.

The Atlanta Dream’s schedule release video outpaced many other WNBA teams on TikTok and had more views on Facebook, Instagram, and X, but Atlanta took things one step further by producing platform-specific content during the schedule release video shoot – providing their audience with bonus content that showcased player personality. The key takeaway here is that while simply posting the release content on TikTok can provide value if it resonates in the algorithm, using the production opportunity to build additional elements can create an even bigger opportunity to engage fans.

TikTok-inspired content can also play a big role, as we’ve seen more simple concepts yield impactful results. Take for example the Chicago Sky leveraging the “suspect challenge” TikTok trend, intermixed with pop culture references like movie clips and memes that held a strong internet cache. This video included clever jabs towards opposing teams and fan bases, which helped Chicago rank second in the league in total impressions, engagements, and social value across Facebook, Instagram, and X. 

If the WNBA continues to invest in making the schedule release a major event, these gains in impressions, engagement, and social value can be amplified, driving even greater visibility and fan connection—ultimately setting the stage for the league’s continued growth.