Three weeks into its regular season, the WNBA "plans to
upgrade its average projections of attendance for the season
from 4,000 to 6,000 because of the size of the initial
crowds," according to the league's Exec VP/CMO Rick Welts,
in a feature by Athelia Knight of the WASHINGTON POST. On
NBC, the average TV rating for the first three games was 2.8
and NBC Sports VP Ed Markey said that network officials
"expect" the ratings to range from 1.5 to 2.5 for the rest
of the season. ESPN, broadcasting 13 games over the season,
has averaged a 1.0 rating so far (WASHINGTON POST, 7/15).
EXPANSION PLANS? WNBA President Val Ackerman said that
WNBA expansion "is an issue that will be dealt with at some
future time." Ackerman: "There's no plans for expansion at
the moment. I think we need to get some of this inaugural
season under our belt before we make any decisions or
announcements" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 7/15).
FREE ADVICE: In Minneapolis, Dan Barreiro commented on
the WNBA: "The basketball itself has varied from the
dreadful to the solid, but the feeling here is that overall,
it has been quite watchable. Which doesn't necessarily mean
it will succeed." Barreiro, to the WNBA: "Stop marketing
the game as if it is just like the NBA. ... The league
needs its own identity. ... [and] would be far better served
by marketing the differences between it and the men's game:
fewer egos, less selfishness, better ball movement. Serious
effort from players hungry to build from the ground up"
(STAR TRIBUNE, 7/13). In Orange County, Barbara Kingsley
profiles the league's marketing effort. Kingsley: "While
some fans are concerned the WNBA is doing too much to please
Madison Avenue, advertisers like what they're seeing. ...
Clearly, the league, and its advertisers, are selling more
than basketball. They're signing up with a movement."
Noting recent advertising spreads in Glamour and Self
magazines, Kingsley adds that while the ads "have won praise
from members" of NOW and the Women's Sports Foundation,
"some contend the WNBA has gone too far to win the hearts of
advertisers who tend to embrace sex appeal." Art Taylor,
Associate Dir at Northeastern Univ.'s Center for the Study
of Sports and Society: "You have a problem when the season
comes you get in there and realize they're not all models.
You can't sell it one way and deliver it another." Peter
Land, NBA/WNBA Dir of Marketing Communications, said the
WNBA is trying to emphasize "performance and athleticism."
Land: "Our focus was on the players" (O.C. REGISTER, 7/16).
JUST DOING IT: Actor Steve Buscemi "is making his
directorial debut in advertising" and has recently completed
ten spots for Nike. The ads, slated to break this week,
tout Nike's co-sponsorship of the WNBA (ADWEEK, 7/14 issue).
DAWN OF A NEW LEAGUE? The ABL's Dawn Staley, whose
contract expires at the end this season: "[I]'ll test the
market, so to speak. The ABL is going to look out for
what's best for the ABL. The WNBA is going to look out for
the WNBA. It's time for players to also look out for
themselves" (John Smallwood, PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 7/16).
