Beginning its second season of broadcasting WNBA games,
Lifetime "is emphasizing personalities and, it sounds like,
de-emphasizing stats and sports terminology," according to
Susan Slusser of the S.F. CHRONICLE. Slusser: "[I]sn't
there a danger that this approach is A) condescending and B)
sexist? There are plenty of female sports fans who
understand stats and strategy, and there are also men who
want to watch the WNBA." Lifetime VP Brian Donlon: "I don't
think it's condescending on any level. I don't think you
can have a professional like [Lifetime WNBA analyst] Reggie
Miller be condescending about how the game is played. But
with a lot of these players, nobody knew who they were, so
we try to put a face on them." Slusser adds,
"Interestingly, some of the WNBA broadcasters are perfectly
willing to take potshots at the rival ABL. So women's
sports are great, women's basketball is great, women are
great -- except for maybe that darn other league. It
doesn't make much sense to sell the sport and then deprecate
the competition. But as long as Lifetime does not get too
schmaltzy with its coverage, the expanded and improved WNBA
will be terrific television" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 6/10).
ROSIE JOINS IN: Conde Nast's Women Sports & Fitness
runs a feature by Rosie O'Donnell "on the joys of being a
fan of the WNBA" in this month's issue. O'Donnell
originally wrote the article as the preface to a new book,
"WNBA: A Celebration" by Kelly Whiteside (N.Y. POST, 6/10).
