The Dallas Mavericks last week became the first team in the NBA to join streaming formats Roku, Live.ly and Musical.ly, as sports teams rush to engage audiences by seeking out all varieties of emerging digital platforms.

“We want our fans to have access to Mavs content wherever they are, and within any platform they’re using, said owner Mark Cuban in a statement. “Adding Roku to our repertoire adds another piece to the fan experience puzzle.”

Roku is a rapidly growing content and video streaming platform that utilizes a proprietary set-top box and operating system. According to the company, Roku streamed 5.5 billion hours of content in 2015, up 73% from the previous year. Roku also ended 2015 with 9 million monthly active accounts.

The Maverick’s channel, which can be accessed through the search bar or with the code “gomavs,” provides exclusive behind-the-scenes content, long-form pieces and special highlights.

Oh hello @QuincyAcy! ???? follow us on @musicallyapp! pic.twitter.com/OiuFtUIGRO

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) September 26, 2016

In addition to being the first NBA team on Roku, the Mavericks are the first team in the league to join live-streaming app Live.ly and and music-video creation app Musical.ly. Both apps are available on iOS and Android, and the Mavericks can be found under the username “@DallasMavs.”

The Mavericks have 122.6k fans on Musical.ly and frequently post videos of players dancing to their favorite songs. The clips earn tens of thousands of likes and hundreds of comments, and the Mavericks stated that one video of forward Quincy Acy had garnered over 125,000 views on the platform.

On Live.ly, the team streams practice and pre-game warm-up sessions that fans would previously have been unable to access, and the team claims that the exclusive streams earn 15,000-20,000 views.

Happy Chinese New Year! Make sure you follow our Mavs China account: @MavsChina!

WATCH: https://t.co/npVFtlTVf1 pic.twitter.com/Z6CfHI9hdI

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) February 8, 2016

These announcements should be no surprise for anyone familiar with the Maverick’s digital developments. They have been on the forefront of NBA fan engagement through new social channels, using Chinese social media platform Weibo starting last season to engage with the team’s sizeable fanbase in China.

The country represents an enormous market for the NBA, with 641 million Chinese viewers in the 2015-16 season and 65 percent of that audience over mobile. In recognition, the Mavericks operate Chinese-specific Twitter and Facebook accounts and released a video on 12 September to celebrate the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, and the team continues to curate content specifically for its Chinese fanbase.

We are the first NBA team to partner with Mineplex & will create “Dallas Mavericks World!

????https://t.co/BPxzTlwfDU pic.twitter.com/Frq8YmYMmP

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) May 18, 2016

In May, the Mavericks announced “Dallas Mavericks World,” a scale model of the team’s home stadium, the American Airlines Center, on the popular web game Minecraft. The innovative move saw the team become the first in the NBA to partner with Mineplex, one of the largest Minecraft servers, enabling millions of users a month to interact with the Mavericks on a unique platform that was previously untested by sports teams.

It's opening night. Let's Go @dallasmavs !!! #MFFL

— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) October 26, 2016

The Mavericks’ robust social presence comes from the top down. Team owner Mark Cuban is one of the most well-known and outspoken NBA owners, starring on the popular television show Shark Tank and frequently voicing his opinion on all matters sporting, financial and political. Cuban’s social media influence even outweighs his own team, as he has 5.92 million followers on Twitter, dwarfing the Maverick’s own 1.05 million.

These new media accounts come at a time when teams must become increasingly creative and experimental in order to obtain new supporters. Social media mainstays Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are reaching a saturation point where returns on fan acquisition are beginning to slow. Live.ly and Musical.ly are both mobile-app based and heavily millennial focused, targeting new and younger demographics that prefer mobile engagement. Roku has cemented itself as one of leading alternative media players, making it especially lucrative as sports fans increasingly cut their cords and cable subscriptions.  

Guess who’s on @Snapchat? The perfect add/follow (@mcuban) for #MFFL’s! #mcuban #Mavs pic.twitter.com/ptb9ENTBR9

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) October 22, 2016

Quickly identifying and capitalizing on new social media platforms is vital in order to claim a fan base before other teams arrive and divide the potential audience. Every NBA team excluding the Orlando Magic, the NBA itself and even Marc Cuban now operate an account on the popular content-sharing app Snapchat. The Mavericks’ strategy sets an example for sports teams that have seen slow-downs in fan engagement, but it is not necessarily an easy path to copy.

Teams must act without hesitation in order to gain the most. General fans of the league as a whole that crave any and all content will gravitate towards that first account on a new platform, and the first adopter also benefits from press coverage announcing their pioneering accomplishment.

The Dallas Mavericks are the first NBA team to join Roku, Live.ly and Musical.ly and they will reap the audience rewards, but now that the doors are open, Mark Cuban’s team will soon have company in the never-ending clamor for fan acquisition.