The 2023 WNBA season tipped off last week with fan interest in women’s basketball as high as it has ever been. On the heels of a season that saw TV viewership reach a 15-year high in 2022, fans across the country are packing stadiums to see their favorite teams and stars take the court again.
This season represents the beginning of an especially exciting new era for fans of the Chicago Sky, as the franchise enters this season with a fully revamped roster, an exciting new addition to their ownership group, and a commitment to enhancing their fan engagement. The club’s focus on the fan experience has led them to partner with ON and implement an AI-enabled chat solution to help engage with growing fan demand.
Managing a Growing Fanbase
WNBA fandom is in a massive period of growth, and teams like the Sky are often challenged by limited resources as they look to capitalize on the increase in fan demand. This places a drain on staff time, requiring busy ticketing and services staff members to handle inbound fan requests.
With attendance on the rise across the league and first-time fans flocking to stadiums to experience the action, teams are faced with more ticketing-related questions than ever before. The defending champion Las Vegas Aces and the Indiana Fever were the first two WNBA teams to turn to GameOn to help manage this increase in fan demand, and now the Chicago Sky have done the same.
The Solution
With their new chat solution in place, the Sky are freeing up precious bandwidth for members of their front office while giving the fans real-time answers to all of their ticketing and logistics questions. The Sky’s new chat experience is available on the team’s website and mobile app, and serves as a virtual concierge focused on helping fans make more informed decisions around ticketing purchases and game day logistics.
“We’re thrilled to be supporting the Sky at such an exciting time in both the team’s evolution and the growth of the WNBA’s fandom,” said Harry Valentgas, ON’s Senior Customer Success Manager. “With three franchise partners in the WNBA, we are constantly gaining new insight into how the league's fans engage with chat and just how valuable it can be for fans and front offices alike."
As our WNBA partners can attest, chat platforms are no longer a nice-to-have, but a necessity for teams to quickly and efficiently engage with fans and consumers. ON ensures that the needs of every team are met through a unique and responsive AI-enabled chat experience capable of driving business value through personalized fan engagement. Here’s how we can save your team valuable time and money with chat.
