The "million-dollar question for the WNBA -- and for less established
organizations" such as the NWSL, which "employs most of the World Cup
team -- has been how to attract a wider audience to watch supremely
talented professionals compete against one another," according to William Rhoden of the N.Y. TIMES. A confluence of "chauvinism and gender biases has made the ceiling they
are up against a particularly difficult one to shatter." Women are engaged in an "uphill climb: trying to break through and gain
wider commercial success in the competitive United States sports
marketplace." The women’s sports landscape is "littered with leagues that have
tried, and failed." Purdue professor Cheryl Cooky said
that the news media "drives interest and creates the appetite." The WNBA Liberty’s opening game, with President Isiah Thomas as the "media magnet, was a good example of the horde swarming in to cover the WNBA for a day and then disappearing." Cooky added, "All of this is a vicious cycle. Advertiser revenue is tied to
viewer ratings, and viewer ratings are shaped by media coverage." Meanwhile, Liberty F Swin Cash
said, "I think women have to start supporting women" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/30).
OUT IN FRONT: SI's Alexander Wolff writes the WNBA for most of its first 17 seasons "took an ambivalent stance toward its significant lesbian fan base," so last May, when the league and Cover Girl cosmetics announced WNBA Pride, a nationwide campaign to embrace LGBT fans, it was "hard not to wonder what had taken the league so long." However, even if the initiative "seems late, the WNBA is the first pro sports league with an integrated marketing campaign aimed at gays and lesbians" (SI, 6/29 issue).
