WISL COO Steve Powell told THE DAILY that the eight-
team, TX-based league is in discussions with Yahoo! and that
the ISP "may very well be coming on-board as a league
partner very soon." Powell: "Companies like Yahoo! are
always looking for the right kind of content, and we
envision broadcasting the first ever professional soccer
game in streaming video. Other companies don't have the
distribution that Yahoo! brings to the table. ... Yahoo! can
help us get our message out globally, not just nationally."
SPIDER WEB: The WISL recently signed a multi-year
marketing deal with SpiderSport.com, a Web site devoted to
youth soccer, for around $200,000 in cash and promotional
considerations. SpiderSport, in addition to a grassroots
presence during WISL games, will receive signage and rights
to use league and team marks in marketing efforts. Powell
said SpiderSport is a "solid marketing arm for us -- not
just for ticket sales, but to communicate what our teams are
trying to do in communities." As an example of a team's
community-based efforts, Powell mentioned the Arizona
Thunder's involvement in the "Say No to Tobacco" campaign.
LEAGUE SET FOR A WEB RELAUNCH: Powell also said the
WISL will relaunch its Web site in the next three weeks and
that he envisions the site to be "able to exist as a portal
to provide a page that links [soccer fans] to their favorite
teams around the world -- sort of one-stop shopping for
soccer fans." The site, for example, may have the
capability of linking users to teams of the English Premier
League and Italy's Serie A (THE DAILY).
