NBA Entertainment (NBAE) and SFX Alphabet City Sports
Records have joined to release "Divas of the Court: Songs
from the WNBA, Volume I." The 14-song CD will be released
this Saturday at the NBA Store in N.Y. following a live
performance by recording artist Destiny's Child. Proceeds
from sales of the CD will benefit the National Alliance of
Breast Cancer Organizations (NABCO). In addition, the WNBA
and SFX will present a $25,000 check to NABCO at Saturday's
concert. The CD includes music from such artists as Vanessa
Williams, Luscious Jackson, Shawn Colvin and the Go-Go's.
Destiny's Child's performance is part of the NBA Store
Concert Series, which launched last month and features
various recording artists performing at the store. Liberty C
Rebecca Lobo will host Saturday's concert. NBA VP/Marketing
& Corporate Communications Jeffrey Pollack: "The NBA Store
has become a destination for basketball fans, players and
coaches, and celebrities who connect with our game" (NBA).
HAVE THE WEASEL SHOOT HOOPS! BRANDWEEK's Terry Lefton
reports that A-B is leveraging its NBA sponsorship "with an
under-the-cap, instant-win contest for Budweiser beer that
will be its first national promotion since picking up the
sponsorship." A-B's "Get Some Game" promo will start in
January and run for six weeks and offer trips to the 2000
NBA All-Star Game in D.C. A-B VP/Media & Sports Marketing
Tony Ponturo: "The NBA still has strong numbers of both
mainstream 21- to 34-year-old consumers and great African
American viewership and affinity, so we think that as a
property it's the right pace for us." Lefton adds that POP,
print and possibly radio will support (BRANDWEEK, 10/18).
HAVE THEY GOT GAME? USA TODAY's Josh Chetwynd writes on
the NBA Entertainment League (See THE DAILY, 10/19) and
reports that "there were no tryouts for the Hollywood
bigwigs," but NBAE Dir of Communications Mike Bass "insists
that the 'quality of play will be at a decent level.'" The
regular season will be closed to the public, but the
playoffs and the finals "might be open." Chetwynd writes
that the NBA may set up another league in N.Y. if the L.A.
season is "deemed successful" (USA TODAY, 10/20).
