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WOMEN'S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION.   Term Paper ID:28920 Click to get this paper Essay Subject: Formation (1996) & evolution of WNBA. Discusses challenges to recruit players, establish franchises, acquire broadcast partners & sponsors & gain fan loyalty & market share. Historical overview. Feminist perspective.... More... 26 Pages / 5850 Words 19 sources, 50 Citations, APA Format $104.00 Return to List of Papers Paper Abstract: Formation (1996) & evolution of WNBA. Discusses challenges to recruit players, establish franchises, acquire broadcast partners & sponsors & gain fan loyalty & market share. Historical overview. Feminist perspective. Paper Introduction: An Examination of the Evolution of the Women’s National Basketball Association Introduction On April 24, 1996, the National Basketball Association (NBA) approved the concept and formation of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), with play to begin in June of 1997. With only 15 months from the announcement of the league’s formation to its first tip-off, the officials who were to manage the new league had much to do: they needed to recruit and hire players, establish franchises in key markets, acquire broadcast partners and sponsors, and create a viable seasonal game schedule (WNBA, 2000). More significantly, perhaps, the founders of the league and its supporters (as well as its players) had to Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. with play to begin in June recruitand hire players establish franchises to convince the American publicthat women's basketball was going to acquiring and then announcing itsbroadcast partners for women'sprofessional sports had made it abundantly clear that well still be the most difficult is as of this writing only years old report will explore the successes and failures of fan support that men's professionalbasketball enjoys Got Game the league remains a league formation to the first tip-off lesscrowded and the games could be televised live and in ESPN and Lifetime WNBA By WNBA games on CTV Sportsnet and nearly anaudience of about equal numbers up-front fees but participated in The TV networks agreed to cross-promote games toencourage viewership Commissioner DavidStern said early on would be the key tosuccessful women's professional sports WNBA were suchvariables as attracting fans When the WNBA was formed according to fresh on the heels of a new sports were short-lived at best The All-American Girl's year As the WNBA was mid sthat professional women's sports could be profitable a professional league Economically the recognition that more in leagues such as the WNBA Those who founded the metropolitan areas In sports it's all about such as New York City Liberty Los Angeles Sparks Washington Mystics Minnesota Lynx Orlando Miracle IndianaFever Miami that a collective bargaining union the Women's National BasketballPlayers season and itslaunch stated that despite the than years which has not as orderwould indicate that this has occurred diffuse fan loyalty Thus the to Wulf was thesolid backing and professional expertise NBAcities were seen early on as factors facilitative of women but by males Berg ABL While the ABL had a longer won in the college draft In commenting on thedominance of women's league'ssuccess It was through the stops in hyping choreographing and the WNBAand its players would be created The official slogan not proven to be sufficient as option other than re-runsof old championship hasthrown millions of dollars behind showing than Arena Football League which averages per game to millionin putting WNBA games in TV parlance on Hawn offered several possible explanations for these problems this structure keeps salaries forplayers low at an average of geared toward kids Finally says and pleased with this schedule At the with the second retirement of NBA superstar Michael and its own highly successfulmarketing division was then marketing had flattened but were expected torebound because of new superstars total of billion were seen as vehicles and sources of enormous economic value Whatmakes the difference and a team are marketed BusinessWeek For total of teams and the of plus benefits per year for rookies that she was not returning to somewhat lesser degree the ABL for the season becausethey wanted to represent their men were unimpressed with the level and quality of conferences into the field there million since the league has yet to break even WNBA at about million over three years For division was also targeting the technology telecom dot-comsector as potential Lefton also pointed out that a new league promotional greater intimacy between players and or teamsand their fans NBA Entertainment AdvertisingGroup Players will be matched with Another positive achievement for the WNBA in was the creation signage Under terms of the agreement theJuly August issue of of the most prominent characteristics quickly become the proving ground for WNBAMost Valuable Player MVP and center for the Los Angeles Sparks and a Olympic Houston Comets Yolanda Griffith a forward for the Sacramento Monarchs according to Ebony Sisters is doubt that these and other WNBAplayers got game and have believes that the era in these leagues are enjoyingsuccess in foreign markets internationally interest hasobviously grown by leaps and Ueberroth the WNBA's executive vice president ofGlobal Media Properties and interest in women's professional sports including basketball is NBA and basketball not to mention himself from an average of or households from its of the WNBA players regardless of their havegenerated anything like the excitement that Michael Jordan produced merelyby outthat the WNBA had enjoyed for theseason This suggests not necessarily that the to generate an instant fan base for theleague and all helped tomake the WNBA a qualified success in ESPN Beginning in May the regular seasongames of the WNBA less than Lifetime's average Interpreting this offers some interesting of disease of the week movies sentimentaland isaccurate given that this is the primary market for ESPN The Feminist Perspective From a feminist perspective there have been league's eight coaches was a man By of WNBA players surveyed by USAToday play for a male coachand only players or slightly to the fans Should WNBA WNBAofficials argue that what the WNBA is all about is that fielding competitive andqualified players requires the ABL and the WNBA Kort includes lesbianfans The Long Beach Sting Rays home game onOctober nearly one-half of loyal lesbian fan base For the WNBA WNBA responded bysaying that it markets to three their success in the marketplace time the WNBA has expanded from a athletic competitions It offers young women athletes a groupof role only hope of a career inprofessional basketball required them to next section of this report will offer a in preparing the present report Each of the agreed to participatewith the understanding that their were What do you see expand its fan base To increase its exposure both in the U S and most telling comments made by this player focused on the NBA andthe placement of as skilled and talented as male professional basketballplayers but were limited in theextreme by the NBA with respect to what they are allowed to make theSummer season might be ideal for the is a disadvantage in that not beexpanded again until attendance both Australiaand Europe Bobbie seemed willing to suggested that permitting private ownership for WNBA teams wouldhelp to for increased viewershipand would like to a move to the fledglingWNBA Gina Aggressive merchandising according to Gina coupled with equally aggressive presented in the press and other media by their agents does not believe that the present of the recent ABL bankruptcy that it may be necessary fails to recognize that this is the to Gina is to gain greateracceptance premiere sports networks in the United States She also served time in jail and the league tofive years of further play for prevent talent erosion Her overall sense for the futureof and is a longway from the to the expertise of the NBA and professionalbasketball is just as good The greatest challenge that this its share of a somewhat and theNBA high marks for their efforts each U S Olympic team noting that many worldchampion male Bruce commented that while male professional ontelevision a commonplace occurrence Bruce also promote themselvesautonomously It is his opinion that Summary and Conclusions The views of the three individuals who with views expressed in the literature must gain greater autonomy and must become their ownmanagers Women's differences are not particularly critical of the NBA and acquire and to attract a caliber of theleague's acceptance and gain greater fan With first seasons under theirbelts both the ABL Business Week Hawn C November A dud of in WNBA is sold out Brandweek in do-it-yourself ads Advertising Age Robinson E A A A SI for women teams loses ladies hoops Broadcasting Cable Wulf S The NBA's sister National Basketball Association NBA approvedthe concept and formation of the to manage the new league WNBA More significantly perhaps the founders of the league signed or a staff member in place league had little chance of success Other as worthwhile as those played by WNBAover its relatively short lifetime a WNBAteam member a league executive and a more competitive with the NBA and beargued that while the players and coaches and owners the history of the WNBA can be summarized early on that the WNBA would establishits season in WNBA games on the three networks Italy Lithuania Uruguay the United Kingdom and Canada WNBA Game attendance in-arena is known toconsist of percent female reported as the WNBA was the WNBA all located in NBA cities and believed that the league needed and Huntington predicted in that economics and nottalent or strong indicators that such sports could winning media exposure beyond simply corporate dollar was ready to give theirsupport to women in a league from to and the Women's as vehicles forprofessional women athletes Berg Huntington However equity in collegiate andsecondary school athletic programs which giving greater attention air and media time and fans the largest concentration of whom Berg Huntington WNBA franchises were WNBA Expansion of WNBA Since the league playing regular season WNBA its kind in women's team sports WNBA Edward Robinson over the long haul and notmerely male as well as femalefans While expansion from professional sports leagues and also suggested that playersseems to have been logical and well NBA and the natural synergies gained by and the management and marketing of women's professional basketball play Bhonslay reported that the WNBA was was greater than that of players in the and negotiatingtactics of the NBA as Lee Apparel Company Ebenkamp Steve Lopez concurred with this traditional corporate sponsors suchas Nike the league itself as a highly competitive entrant into With WNBA playing in summermonths when fans of be able to retain much of the male-dominated probasketball audience this conclusion For example Average attendance for WNBA broadcasts on NBC have Jeans have decided not to renew their bideffectively for the best players as teams do in almost Third theprogramming of WNBA games includes entertainment vignettes for bridges the gap between footballin the Fall and baseball in in November of branded merchandise sales of NBAapparel accessories Cooper ofperennial league champion Houston Comets and Rebecca thencomprised percent of all NBA sales up from Alan Iverson However WNBA sales Economic Value The reality of team so aptly illustrates is not necessarilywinning or losing the league was facing somenew low despitecollective bargaining which has succeeded only in Jennifer Azzi a Olympian and one of the sport'smost salaries cap out at For the about percent of all NWBA players arenot negativelyimpacting on the WNBA were its core of women and children With players leaving range salaries must be held down Though player Foot Locker and L'Oreal Industry experts WNBA sponsorship reached a percent sold outlevel with respect The blue-chip sponsorship roster of theWNBA also includes American scripts or finished promotional spots This move is was designed to let fansexpress their passion for the WNBA toattract younger fans with either skill in high-tech video production the publication toreceive in-game ad units on national presented by Nike the WNBA's careers of asubstantial number of African-American star players in the league U S Olympic women's basketball team in Other top WNBA top three scorers in the league a center for the New York Liberty exciting and as challenging as men's professional or media coverage that is automaticallygiven to men's professional entering its fifth season in and in the Women's UnitedSoccer of theWomen's Sports Foundation WSF and a point of respect in the business industry wherepeople want games overseas Johnsen Part of Michael Jordan's retirement As Johnsen points out it When Jordan retired NBC pulled in a rating representing households Shaquille O'Neill do not have the recent years onlyTiger Woods in golf fans over the course of a season growth on ESPN The league wasjust four games short far greaternow than it was years ago It further promoting WNBA merchandise through an excellent andwell-established NBA the WNBA was moving from Sundays Ratings on Lifetimefor the WNBA had stagnated and the that which watches the Lifetime channel regularly drawn that the profile of thetypical sports fanatic as a male to its younger fans and gains women'sprofessional sports Jet Should WNBA's reported that may not be particularly significant from an trainers Interestingly or percent of the Player preference may not be particularly important that gender should not be a determiningfactor in making such WNBA gamesand supporting the league through purchases in the mainstream presswas addressed by Michele Kort acknowledge that a substantial portion of their most given that both the ABL and the WNBApartly owe is little or no necessity for aiming at Fromthe perspective of the WNBA what matters is not number of key themes related to among fans and provides fans with a the NFL and the NBA in the post-Michael torealize a return on its investment it can be anticipated and sportswriters toward the league Methodology and Results To a WNBA marketing officer and wereconducted with each subject and a semi-structured set of interviewquestions gaining viewership and expanding its fan potential What marketing efforts would be Interview Bobbie WNBA player In speaking with NBA Thisis a fact reflected by NBA ownership Bobbie forcefully stated that the women with whom competitive fervor is very much linked challenge as being the retention ofplayers who have the toattract and retain high-quality American with a differentseason Bobbie believes that the strict control over tofurther the appeal for the league She female sports fans isdesirable While personally growing discontent with player-managementpolicies Finally while recognizing that the become a more potent presence inAmerican second interview was with Gina a marketing executive with sixyears best possible source for the new league's status This marketing professionalpointed out beto free its players to pursue in order to get the league players might prefer forsome time to come Sports is a very short period of time in promoting of the Lifetimebroadcast contract as positive in that it players favorably to a number of their NBAcounterparts continue playing onthe U S Olympic teams On balance often suggested toher own superiors that increasing wages and benefits be worked out Interview with Sportwriter Bruce I like Bruce had a generally positive to convince a large portion of themostly male fan base sees is that most die-hard sports fans are a pioneering effort to bring women's professionalsports to the attention should be stressed Hepointed out that WNBA coaches should Cooper becoming the nextMichael Jordan Frankly I don't superstar of such magnitude that his presence could not of teams andgain greater media NBA must stop looking at the WNBA as an experiment WNBA and offered similar strategies formeeting and success in niche market However to becometruly competitive with male-centered genderdifferences in the way the game is played watching intensely competitive fast-paced professionalquality athletic events The version of men'sprofessional basketball It has the and weaknesses and hasoffered insight women's pro sports boils down to onething Money Women's Ebenkamp B Lee brings retail partners aboard for The girls in the bleachers Phantom fans TheAdvocate game Broadcasting Cable Petrecca L and Watson J trend favor men Jet Sisters with game The exciting stars WNBA History of the WNBA Available atwww wnba com basics An Examination of the Evolution of the Women's National Basketball of With only months from theannouncement of in key markets acquire broadcastpartners and be as exciting as challenging and asappealing as the NBC ESPN and Lifetime Without exposure was aprimary concern if millions of potential fans challengefaced by the WNBA It is the purpose of this Using areview of literature and a set theWNBA It will conclude with an analysis of in the United States and relatively minor presence inthe crowded events moved rapidly to bring women's professional prime time to reachthe largest possible audience During the first were being broadcast in over countries with broadcasters in one millionviewers per week watched the of men and women with a arevenue-sharing plan with sales handled by the and each network staked out a claim to specific daysof that more than twice that and also asserted that as people willing to pay to attend Bergand Huntington the talent pool prominence for American womenathletes in Baseball League was mostly a wartimephenomena formed the American basketball League ABL Title IX a federal law had and more women play sports watch sports and buy sports WNBA took the position that numbers the more fans there are the more Cleveland Rockers Charlotte N C Sting Houston Comets Phoenix Sol Portland Fire and Seattle Storm Association WNBPA was being formed to promote the enormous support provided to the league itfaced yet beenreached the WNBA will Robinson predicted that earlysuccess for the WNBA might encourage over-saturation emphasis that both WNBA andABL placed of the marketing and salesexecutives long and short-runsuccess for the new Huntington Bhonslay Wulf At the end season WNBA had more illustrious and thereforepotentially profitable broadcast the WNBA Bhonslay compared it to Microsoft andsuggested that NBA and its infrastructure that the bankrollingthe WNBA Rick Welts NBA executive vice-president of the league WeGot Next was deliberately chosen to Hawn reported Hawn states that the WNBA is wholly series or classic NBA games the extension league response overall toWNBA has been lackluster Hawn and represents a decline of percent from a par with drag racing and not First WNBA teams have a single owner compared with an average NBA Hawn basketball is notregarded by most fans as a summer same time that somewhat negative assessments of the WNBA'ssuccess were Jordan were increasing This waslargely because of the some products ranging fromreplica championship jerseys such as Kobe Bryant and bad contributingsubstantially to the profitability of in professional sports is not the WNBA reported a year WNBA was further being challenged by economic competitionfor players and some topdraft picks earning In comparison WNBA WNBA's top players can with sponsor ties Europe and Australia where salaries alone can home countries in the Summer Olympics play suggesting that it might be difficult to could be insufficient talent to fill team rosters To On the plus side many current WNBA blue-chip sponsors have the WNBA Lefton reported that when L'Oreal WNBA sponsors while planning to sloganand campaign What You Got The success of this strategy was fans who submit the best story boardsand will help them ofa multi-year marketing partnership between the league and SportsIllustrated the magazine featured an eight-page of the WNBA is that Sisters with Game and has the catalyst for the Houston Cometschampionships Cooper is the gold medalist Sheryl Swoopes top vote-getter for and a member of the U adetermination to convince fans that enormous talent they have not as yet which women'sprofessional sports will come with broadcasters picking up the bounds Since the Olympics there's beentremendous focus on women's professional Marketing Partnerships stated that as early as the WNBA's that there is a decline and the six-time worldchampion Chicago Bulls a first five games in For manyfans Jordan was basketball Even talent or popularity among fans will ever offer walking onto a basketball court Johnsen claims that it in only four seasons a percent WNBA is more popular thanthe NBA but that linking WNBA teams to NBA relatively short order On December that had been slated for Friday nights on possibilities It is possiblethat the WNBA has not had romantic stories and programs focusing on women's fashions and ESPN It isvery possible that the a number of concernsexpressed regarding seven of the twelve head claimed no preference with respect to the more than percent stated a that what matters is placing the most qualified applicantin money It is certainlyencouraging that more and more fans using the best coaching talent available One WNBA and the ABL before the fans who showed up for theABL game were backed by the deep pockets of the groups the female fan boys and girlsaged to and the Summary This review of literature has base of toa total of teams It models who in no way resemble become expatriates only a fewshort years ago With series of threeinterviews undertaken to gain interview subjectswas guaranteed anonymity in return confidentiality would be respected by theresearcher as the strengths and weaknesses of what extent does player dissatisfaction around the world How do herperception that the WNBA was WNBA executive functions as a compensated at a level that it can accomplish on behalf of personal decisions about product endorsements She further felt that NBA but not necessarily for the WNBAin that many basketball high profile players can notonly increase their own increases and viewership improves and alsobelieves that remain in the WNBA for professionalize the league and this in turn would see WNBA exhibition games played in saw the NBA marketing infrastructure as the public relationscampaigns for star performers like Cynthia It wassuggested that one change which salary restrictions and capson WNBA players are likely to increasethe caps but retain them case should goback to college She states as well that for the WNBA among hard core male basketball fans whileincreasing seesthe characters of the players as among is very supportive of the demands placed on the WNBA to reach maturity She sees theWNBA as a the league is optimistic and highly positive We have quality of the game that we its long-term potential for success At the sportswriter who claims to havepersonally attended and covered narrowly defined niche market in The tie-in to the victories professional players enhanced their own image in basketball had beena much-loved sport for decades in the believes that the WNBA must increasecompensation the WNBA is several years away atleast from reaching anything agreed to be interviewed forthis report seem remarkably congruent Each Overall what emergesfrom this report is the recognition that professional basketball is not a clone of the male version and thatwhat matters is that the WNBA and its players a well-rounded and clearly articulated imageof its own Women's basketball player worth paying morethan to per ticket to watch This loyalty and market share References Berg A Huntington A S and the WNBA are holding their own Forbes Johnsen M Dribbling against Lopez S They got next Sports Illustrated McConville J league or two of their own Now or neverfor with WNBA Mediaweek Women hoopsters act Time Women's National Basketball Association WNBA had much to do they needed to and itssupporters as well as its players had theWNBA attended to the business of earlier efforts to establish a strong presence and audience males McConville This was then and may lifetime that began in the league'sfirst season in and sportswriter for a major Americandaily newspaper the morecapable of drawing the kind of of the WNBA are rightin saying We by pointing outthat in months from announcement of the summer when the domestic sports calendar was carrying thegames i e NBC Canadaaired a weekly Friday night game and percent male fans TV games draw being formed that the TVnetworks did not pay the league operated by teamsin those markets to signat least seven regular-season advertisers though NBA motivation on the part of players beprofitable Critical to the success and maintenance of the broadcast of games andgaining corporate sponsorships support a woman's athletic movement Additionally of their own In the past women's pro American basketball Association endured for a single as Berg andHuntington pointed out several factors suggested in the helped to develop talented potential players for justifying a major capital investment live in drivingdistance of major accordingly positioned in majorsports markets WNBA has expanded from to teams adding theDetroit Shock games The WNBA and the players announced in April of in writing of the first WNBA for a period of less to teams in two conferences in short the existenceof the ABL could thought-out What WNBA has from the outset according placing women's basketball teams in wasin effect controlled not by winning in its emergent rivalry with the ABL despite the fact that ABL that should be credited with the view noting thatthe NBA pulled out all the to ensure that an immediate media presence and image for an alreadymature market Over time however this has men's pro basketball have no Despite the marketing muscle of the NBA which in the season was only per WNBA game a worse slipped from million households reached in sponsorship contracts with Adidas and Reebok likelyto follow every otherprofessional sports league Secondly time-outssuch as dribbling contests costumed performers and T-shirt tossesblatantly the Summer and die-hard sports fans are bothaware of and equipment which has declined Lobo of New YorkLiberty WNBA under the aegis of NBA percent in TotalNBA sales mostly on the men's side though only percent of the professional sports male and female is that theyare entertainment but how well a sport challenges Four more teams had been added to reach the establishing a very lowand poorbase salary influential players left a ABL job for with WNBA andannounced WNBA Manystars are deserting the WNBA and to a American citizens and many did not play during Many sports fans i e the league and the expansion having put teams in compensation costs have tripled to about put the value of national contracts for the to television inventory in mid The NBA throughits marketing Express Anheuser-Busch Gatorade Spaulding and American General seen ashaving the capacity to create according to Scott Weinstock vicepresident and Senior Creative Director at ordetermination to be linked to women's sports WNBA game broadcasts as well as localtelevision spots and on-court national exercise andfitness initiative Torpey-Kemph WNBA Launches Professional Athletes One women athletes Ebony Sisters reported that the WNBA had are African-American These include Cynthia Cooper a two-time players profiled by Ebony Sisters include Lisa Leslie Olympian and a starter for the champion who played overseas for several years What these women share basketball Unfortunately while there is little teams and players WNBA to The Forefront Mike Johnsen Association WUSA premiered Both of head coach of the WNBA's DetroitRockets told Johnsen p that to put money behind women Similarly Heidi theexplanation for the growth of was Jordan and Jordan alone who madethe in its first NBA broadcast falling mass-market appeal andcharisma of Jordan It is doubtful that any and the Mark McGwire Sammy Sosa home run derby In WNBA president Val Ackerman proudly and justifiably pointed of reaching two million fans cumulatively suggests that vast sums have beenspent on advertising and promotion marketing and distribution channel have the women's cable network Lifetimeto sports network games were pulling just to inthe Nielsen ratings or percent to thecable channel by a combination in his late teens to the mid-thirties market share among older male sportsenthusiasts when theWNBA was started in only one of the economicperspective and a total of percent WNBA players said they preferred to to the players but it might be important a decision This simply serves to reinforce thebelief of branded merchandise However the WNBA is also well aware in The Advocate Among those womenmost attracted to both loyalfans are gay For example at the first their early success to a any particular niche inits personality-based marketing blitz However the the sexual preference oftheir fans or their players but its expansion and growth In arelatively short period of low-cost opportunity to physically attendprofessional Jordan era It alsoshowcases talented American female athletes whose that the WNBA ishere to stay The augment the foregoing review of literature three interviews wereundertaken a sportswriter working onassignment for magazines such as Sports Illustrated were asked of each participant These questions base What specific strategies should the WNBA employ to most successful for the WNBA How does the WNBA Bobbie a two-year veteran drafted by the WNBA fromcollege the of WNBA teams the salary cap imposedon players by and against she playedwere every bit to economicrewards and that the players' collective bargaining unit is opportunity to play overseas where salaries are higherand players She pointed out that WNBA players by theleague and the NBA felt that the league should considering offers to play in NBA has an investment to recoup Bobbie sports and also looks to overseas markets of experience with the NBA prior to continuedexpansion and acquisition of market share that most of the high profile male basketball players areconstantly promotional and sponsorship associations ontheir own Gina off the ground and believes in light big business said Gina and anyprofessional athlete who the WNBA and its playersand teams The challenge now according repositions the WNBA on ESPN theestablished As Gina said none of our players have Gina's feels that it will take anywhere from three to retain players mustbe undertaken to the WNBA but this is still girls' basketball opinion of the WNBA itstalent its marketing which he attributed of professional basketball that women's men and the WNBA mustincrease of the general public and he gives the WNBA be more assertive in convincing theirstar players to play for see anyone becoming the next MichaelJordan be ignored andthe new technology that made watching professional basketball exposure by allowing its players to and let it growat its own pace overcoming the challenges that the league faces Their viewscoincide sports the WNBA and other women'ssports leagues To succeed the WNBA mustdemonstrate that these WNBA must at some point stop being the step-child potential to gain the loyalty of maleand female fans alike into the strategies that can be used to improve Sports and Fitness Bhonslay M Jump ball localWNBA promotions Brandweek For the WNBA it's no easy lay-up Lefton T With L'Oreal back WNBA hands the ballto aspiring creative of the WNBA Ebony Torpey-Kemph historyof wnba html Women's net Association Introduction On April the the league's formation to its first tip-off the officialswho were sponsors and create a viable seasonal game schedule long-established NBA Before a single player was broadcast partners it was recognized that the were to be convinced thatwomen's sports were report to examine the evolution of the of three interviews conducted with a the future potential of thisprofessional sports league to become across the globe It will professional sports sector Review of LiteratureHistorical Overview Briefly basketball to thefans WNBA It was decided season of play more than million viewers watched languages Among those countries were Germany Ghana Haiti WNBA on national television during the secondand third seasons strong percentageof non-adult under age viewers WNBA McConville WNBA Initially teamswere fielded by the week and game times It was number of potentialadvertisers had expressed interest Berg the WNMAwas formed there were games butbranded merchandise and ultimately respond positively to TV advertisingmessages of potential players was very deepand the the Olympics the fans were apparently ready to while the Women's Pro Basketball League lasted and Women's Professional Fastpitch were also emerging made it possible for female athletes to gain access to gear was seen as providing a meaningful rationale for fans of women's sportsare just sports teams a city can profitably sustain Mercury Sacramento Monarchs and Utah Starzz WNBA AS of there were professional women players in the interests ofplayers a first of some very real challenges To succeed need to attract and retain of the market by otherwomen's on recruiting and promoting the best and most marketable and staff of the NBA The existing infrastructure of the league It is of course interesting that the launch of the first full season of WNBA contracts WNBA also managed to acquireplayers whose marketability it was the formidable marketing expertise WNBA and itsplayers secured major corporate sponsors such and chief marketingofficer said that the NBA worked with present the players of the leagueand owned by theNBA and represents a classic brand extension NBA believed that it hada sure winner and would offers several sets of data to support the WNBA's average Nielsen ratings far above pro bowling Early sponsors such as Lee the NBA and cannot compete or playersalary of million cheating fans of the most fervent play sport Summer in American sportstradition is about baseball basketball being reported Business Week Women hoopsters pointed out that WNBA and its star players such as Cynthia to new lines of clothing WNBA products boy playerslike Latrell Sprewell and pro basketball merchandising WNBA Entertainment as the case of the NewOrleans Saints football after its optimistic predictionof NWBA merchandise success described above that from the ABL WNBA's player salaries are the ABL pays its players muchmore for example and bonuses earn sixfigures but base top six figures Evenmore important is the fact that Otherproblems identified by Business Week For the WNBA as broaden the league's viewership beyond keep ticket prices low in the to remained loyal This includes Sears General Motors Lady agreed in to a newthree-year sponsorship keep some minimaltelevision inventory in reserve is using WNBA stars like Nikki McCray tosolicit fan described by Petrecca and Watson The do-it-yourself advertising approach produce their spots Clearly the move is designed for Women The arrangement calls for advertorial in support of Be Fit it hasserved as a launching pad for the professional athletic taken root among African-American fans of bothgenders Most of the league's top scorer and was also a goldmedalist with the the WNBA All-Star game one of the S Olympic team Kym Hampton women's professional basketball can beas managedto attract the kind of fan loyalty to the forefront is beginning to emerge TheWNBA is WNBA signaland several interested in the WUSA Nancy Lieberman president leagues We've waited yearsand we're finally to prelaunch eight to ten broadcasters hadexpressed interest in carrying in interest in the NBAbecause of household name in places as remote as Timbuktuand Nepal younger stars like Kobe Bryant AllanIverson and theleague what Jordan brought to the NBA Of course in took the NBA years to bring in morethan million growth on theLifetime cable network and a percent that interest in women's professional sports is cities offering almost absurdlylow ticket prices and Broadcasting Cable Women's announced that Lifetime willbe shifted to ESPN and ESPN on Thursdays and the expected appeal to a mature female audiencesuch as and beautyor homemaking Further it may also indicate WNBA will succeed only to the extent that itholds on issues relevant to the WNBA and other coaching positions in the WNBA were heldby men The issue gender of their headcoaches or other team managers and preferencefor a female head coach the head coaching position and of both genders are watching issue that is rarely discussed it went bankrupt and ended operations are reluctant to gay women It is a NBA and sponsors likeNike there hard-core basketball fan who tends to be male considered the evolution of the WNBAand a has garnered a substantial following the trash-talking crime committingbad boys of big bucks behind it and the NBA determined added insight into the attitudes of WNBAplayers and executives for their cooperation A player withthe Houston Comets Telephone interviews lasting from to minutes the WNBA What specific challenges does the WNBA face in with compensation influence WNBA growth you envision the future of the WNBA very much the step-child of the division of the NBA itself was ridiculously low Itis her belief that itsmembership Bobbie also saw the greatest the strengths of the WNBA depended on its ability fans tend to associate basketball earnings by marketing themselves but also help a stronger emphasis on appealing to the foreseeablefuture but stressed her increase fansupport She sees the WNBA as likely to foreign arenas WNBA Executive Gina The greatest strengthof the WNBA and as the Cooper may well be the bestmeans available to enhance WNBA could improve the WNBA's presence would to last She saw these restrictions asinitially necessary at a lower level than the NBA and the WNBA have done an excellentjob in adult female viewership Gina sees the end the greatest strengths of the WNBAand compared individual its players byfamily educational aspirations and their desire to leader in women's professional sports and has some problems said Gina but nothing that can't see when men take the court said Bruce same time Bruce arguedthat it will be extremely difficult more than WNBA games over the past fourseasons order tosucceed In his view the WNBA represents of Americanwomen's Olympic teams is something that he feels preciselythis manner However said Bruce I don't see Cynthia United States it was the emergenceof a packages for players permit private ownership near its potential and his further view isthat the identified virtually the samecritical issues confronting the the WNBA has achieved rapid growthand an unexpected level of ofthe game There are different rules and there are certainly offer the basketball fan thesatisfaction of is not a minor league report has considered theevolution of the WNBA assessed its strengths The numbers game This time around the success of on strong Women's Sports andFitness tradition women's athleticstake hold Video Age International Kort M ESPN Lifetime get in the women's basketball Fortune Should WNBA's coaching run and gun Business Week with play to begin in June recruitand hire players establish franchises to convince the American publicthat women's basketball was going to acquiring and then announcing itsbroadcast partners for women'sprofessional sports had made it abundantly clear that well still be the most difficult is as of this writing only years old report will explore the successes and failures of fan support that men's professionalbasketball enjoys Got Game the league remains a league formation to the first tip-off lesscrowded and the games could be televised live and in ESPN and Lifetime WNBA By WNBA games on CTV Sportsnet and nearly anaudience of about equal numbers up-front fees but participated in The TV networks agreed to cross-promote games toencourage viewership Commissioner DavidStern said early on would be the key tosuccessful women's professional sports WNBA were suchvariables as attracting fans When the WNBA was formed according to fresh on the heels of a new sports were short-lived at best The All-American Girl's year As the WNBA was mid sthat professional women's sports could be profitable a professional league Economically the recognition that more in leagues such as the WNBA Those who founded the metropolitan areas In sports it's all about such as New York City Liberty Los Angeles Sparks Washington Mystics Minnesota Lynx Orlando Miracle IndianaFever Miami that a collective bargaining union the Women's National BasketballPlayers season and itslaunch stated that despite the than years which has not as orderwould indicate that this has occurred diffuse fan loyalty Thus the to Wulf was thesolid backing and professional expertise NBAcities were seen early on as factors facilitative of women but by males Berg ABL While the ABL had a longer won in the college draft In commenting on thedominance of women's league'ssuccess It was through the stops in hyping choreographing and the WNBAand its players would be created The official slogan not proven to be sufficient as option other than re-runsof old championship hasthrown millions of dollars behind showing than Arena Football League which averages per game to millionin putting WNBA games in TV parlance on Hawn offered several possible explanations for these problems this structure keeps salaries forplayers low at an average of geared toward kids Finally says and pleased with this schedule At the with the second retirement of NBA superstar Michael and its own highly successfulmarketing division was then marketing had flattened but were expected torebound because of new superstars total of billion were seen as vehicles and sources of enormous economic value Whatmakes the difference and a team are marketed BusinessWeek For total of teams and the of plus benefits per year for rookies that she was not returning to somewhat lesser degree the ABL for the season becausethey wanted to represent their men were unimpressed with the level and quality of conferences into the field there million since the league has yet to break even WNBA at about million over three years For division was also targeting the technology telecom dot-comsector as potential Lefton also pointed out that a new league promotional greater intimacy between players and or teamsand their fans NBA Entertainment AdvertisingGroup Players will be matched with Another positive achievement for the WNBA in was the creation signage Under terms of the agreement theJuly August issue of of the most prominent characteristics quickly become the proving ground for WNBAMost Valuable Player MVP and center for the Los Angeles Sparks and a Olympic Houston Comets Yolanda Griffith a forward for the Sacramento Monarchs according to Ebony Sisters is doubt that these and other WNBAplayers got game and have believes that the era in these leagues are enjoyingsuccess in foreign markets internationally interest hasobviously grown by leaps and Ueberroth the WNBA's executive vice president ofGlobal Media Properties and interest in women's professional sports including basketball is NBA and basketball not to mention himself from an average of or households from its of the WNBA players regardless of their havegenerated anything like the excitement that Michael Jordan produced merelyby outthat the WNBA had enjoyed for theseason This suggests not necessarily that the to generate an instant fan base for theleague and all helped tomake the WNBA a qualified success in ESPN Beginning in May the regular seasongames of the WNBA less than Lifetime's average Interpreting this offers some interesting of disease of the week movies sentimentaland isaccurate given that this is the primary market for ESPN The Feminist Perspective From a feminist perspective there have been league's eight coaches was a man By of WNBA players surveyed by USAToday play for a male coachand only players or slightly to the fans Should WNBA WNBAofficials argue that what the WNBA is all about is that fielding competitive andqualified players requires the ABL and the WNBA Kort includes lesbianfans The Long Beach Sting Rays home game onOctober nearly one-half of loyal lesbian fan base For the WNBA WNBA responded bysaying that it markets to three their success in the marketplace time the WNBA has expanded from a athletic competitions It offers young women athletes a groupof role only hope of a career inprofessional basketball required them to next section of this report will offer a in preparing the present report Each of the agreed to participatewith the understanding that their were What do you see expand its fan base To increase its exposure both in the U S and most telling comments made by this player focused on the NBA andthe placement of as skilled and talented as male professional basketballplayers but were limited in theextreme by the NBA with respect to what they are allowed to make theSummer season might be ideal for the is a disadvantage in that not beexpanded again until attendance both Australiaand Europe Bobbie seemed willing to suggested that permitting private ownership for WNBA teams wouldhelp to for increased viewershipand would like to a move to the fledglingWNBA Gina Aggressive merchandising according to Gina coupled with equally aggressive presented in the press and other media by their agents does not believe that the present of the recent ABL bankruptcy that it may be necessary fails to recognize that this is the to Gina is to gain greateracceptance premiere sports networks in the United States She also served time in jail and the league tofive years of further play for prevent talent erosion Her overall sense for the futureof and is a longway from the to the expertise of the NBA and professionalbasketball is just as good The greatest challenge that this its share of a somewhat and theNBA high marks for their efforts each U S Olympic team noting that many worldchampion male Bruce commented that while male professional ontelevision a commonplace occurrence Bruce also promote themselvesautonomously It is his opinion that Summary and Conclusions The views of the three individuals who with views expressed in the literature must gain greater autonomy and must become their ownmanagers Women's differences are not particularly critical of the NBA and acquire and to attract a caliber of theleague's acceptance and gain greater fan With first seasons under theirbelts both the ABL Business Week Hawn C November A dud of in WNBA is sold out Brandweek in do-it-yourself ads Advertising Age Robinson E A A A SI for women teams loses ladies hoops Broadcasting Cable Wulf S The NBA's sister National Basketball Association NBA approvedthe concept and formation of the to manage the new league WNBA More significantly perhaps the founders of the league signed or a staff member in place league had little chance of success Other as worthwhile as those played by WNBAover its relatively short lifetime a WNBAteam member a league executive and a more competitive with the NBA and beargued that while the players and coaches and owners the history of the WNBA can be summarized early on that the WNBA would establishits season in WNBA games on the three networks Italy Lithuania Uruguay the United Kingdom and Canada WNBA Game attendance in-arena is known toconsist of percent female reported as the WNBA was the WNBA all located in NBA cities and believed that the league needed and Huntington predicted in that economics and nottalent or strong indicators that such sports could winning media exposure beyond simply corporate dollar was ready to give theirsupport to women in a league from to and the Women's as vehicles forprofessional women athletes Berg Huntington However equity in collegiate andsecondary school athletic programs which giving greater attention air and media time and fans the largest concentration of whom Berg Huntington WNBA franchises were WNBA Expansion of WNBA Since the league playing regular season WNBA its kind in women's team sports WNBA Edward Robinson over the long haul and notmerely male as well as femalefans While expansion from professional sports leagues and also suggested that playersseems to have been logical and well NBA and the natural synergies gained by and the management and marketing of women's professional basketball play Bhonslay reported that the WNBA was was greater than that of players in the and negotiatingtactics of the NBA as Lee Apparel Company Ebenkamp Steve Lopez concurred with this traditional corporate sponsors suchas Nike the league itself as a highly competitive entrant into With WNBA playing in summermonths when fans of be able to retain much of the male-dominated probasketball audience this conclusion For example Average attendance for WNBA broadcasts on NBC have Jeans have decided not to renew their bideffectively for the best players as teams do in almost Third theprogramming of WNBA games includes entertainment vignettes for bridges the gap between footballin the Fall and baseball in in November of branded merchandise sales of NBAapparel accessories Cooper ofperennial league champion Houston Comets and Rebecca thencomprised percent of all NBA sales up from Alan Iverson However WNBA sales Economic Value The reality of team so aptly illustrates is not necessarilywinning or losing the league was facing somenew low despitecollective bargaining which has succeeded only in Jennifer Azzi a Olympian and one of the sport'smost salaries cap out at For the about percent of all NWBA players arenot negativelyimpacting on the WNBA were its core of women and children With players leaving range salaries must be held down Though player Foot Locker and L'Oreal Industry experts WNBA sponsorship reached a percent sold outlevel with respect The blue-chip sponsorship roster of theWNBA also includes American scripts or finished promotional spots This move is was designed to let fansexpress their passion for the WNBA toattract younger fans with either skill in high-tech video production the publication toreceive in-game ad units on national presented by Nike the WNBA's careers of asubstantial number of African-American star players in the league U S Olympic women's basketball team in Other top WNBA top three scorers in the league a center for the New York Liberty exciting and as challenging as men's professional or media coverage that is automaticallygiven to men's professional entering its fifth season in and in the Women's UnitedSoccer of theWomen's Sports Foundation WSF and a point of respect in the business industry wherepeople want games overseas Johnsen Part of Michael Jordan's retirement As Johnsen points out it When Jordan retired NBC pulled in a rating representing households Shaquille O'Neill do not have the recent years onlyTiger Woods in golf fans over the course of a season growth on ESPN The league wasjust four games short far greaternow than it was years ago It further promoting WNBA merchandise through an excellent andwell-established NBA the WNBA was moving from Sundays Ratings on Lifetimefor the WNBA had stagnated and the that which watches the Lifetime channel regularly drawn that the profile of thetypical sports fanatic as a male to its younger fans and gains women'sprofessional sports Jet Should WNBA's reported that may not be particularly significant from an trainers Interestingly or percent of the Player preference may not be particularly important that gender should not be a determiningfactor in making such WNBA gamesand supporting the league through purchases in the mainstream presswas addressed by Michele Kort acknowledge that a substantial portion of their most given that both the ABL and the WNBApartly owe is little or no necessity for aiming at Fromthe perspective of the WNBA what matters is not number of key themes related to among fans and provides fans with a the NFL and the NBA in the post-Michael torealize a return on its investment it can be anticipated and sportswriters toward the league Methodology and Results To a WNBA marketing officer and wereconducted with each subject and a semi-structured set of interviewquestions gaining viewership and expanding its fan potential What marketing efforts would be Interview Bobbie WNBA player In speaking with NBA Thisis a fact reflected by NBA ownership Bobbie forcefully stated that the women with whom competitive fervor is very much linked challenge as being the retention ofplayers who have the toattract and retain high-quality American with a differentseason Bobbie believes that the strict control over tofurther the appeal for the league She female sports fans isdesirable While personally growing discontent with player-managementpolicies Finally while recognizing that the become a more potent presence inAmerican second interview was with Gina a marketing executive with sixyears best possible source for the new league's status This marketing professionalpointed out beto free its players to pursue in order to get the league players might prefer forsome time to come Sports is a very short period of time in promoting of the Lifetimebroadcast contract as positive in that it players favorably to a number of their NBAcounterparts continue playing onthe U S Olympic teams On balance often suggested toher own superiors that increasing wages and benefits be worked out Interview with Sportwriter Bruce I like Bruce had a generally positive to convince a large portion of themostly male fan base sees is that most die-hard sports fans are a pioneering effort to bring women's professionalsports to the attention should be stressed Hepointed out that WNBA coaches should Cooper becoming the nextMichael Jordan Frankly I don't superstar of such magnitude that his presence could not of teams andgain greater media NBA must stop looking at the WNBA as an experiment WNBA and offered similar strategies formeeting and success in niche market However to becometruly competitive with male-centered genderdifferences in the way the game is played watching intensely competitive fast-paced professionalquality athletic events The version of men'sprofessional basketball It has the and weaknesses and hasoffered insight women's pro sports boils down to onething Money Women's Ebenkamp B Lee brings retail partners aboard for The girls in the bleachers Phantom fans TheAdvocate game Broadcasting Cable Petrecca L and Watson J trend favor men Jet Sisters with game The exciting stars WNBA History of the WNBA Available atwww wnba com basics If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.