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Leagues and Governing Bodies

Sparks' Ogwumike Says Upcoming CBA Could Address Elements To Globally Brand WNBA

Sparks F and WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike has "big plans" for the WNBA, especially as the league "heads toward what could be an industry-defining" CBA after the '19 season, according to Tyler Blint-Welsh of the L.A. TIMES. Her vision is "that of a global brand, with NBA-sized followings in markets worldwide." To accomplish that goal, she said that the new CBA "must address critical elements such as marketing, player housing and travel, ticket sales and in-arena entertainment." Ogwumike: "Sometimes I feel like the WNBA puts (itself) in a box, and we need to jump outside of the box." Blint-Welsh notes since peaking at 10,864 in '98, the league’s average per-game attendance has "steadily dropped, hitting a low of 7,318" in '15. Last year’s average "rose slightly, to 7,655, but televised games draw audiences less than 20% of the size of an NBA game, on average, and half of the league’s 12 teams lose money." Ogwumike said that "much of the problem ... is that WNBA players aren’t recognizable figures." She added that until the league and its players "join in an offseason promotional effort, attracting and retaining new fans will continue to be an uphill climb."  But Ogwumike "hinted that some of the league’s players don’t see the value of collaboration" (L.A. TIMES, 8/17).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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