The one in your head
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From the people I talk with, they say the WNBA is great. I will watch a couple Comets games next season.
Questions to anyone that follows the wnba:
Why is the refereeing so bad?
Why is it that aggressions on Clark and others like Cunningham are basically left unpunished? In the age of 24/7 media this is clearly done on purpose.
Why is it that racism on white players is allowed, not punished and is therefore encouraged?
Why is it that the players seem to run the league instead of the league being in control?
Again any types of publicity is a bonus but because of the above I refuse to watch the wnba. Instead of promoting its own product the wnba has managed to irk a large percentage of potential customers.
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The bias clearly comes from the top, then to the coaches, then to the referee’s. It is hard to watch. If they were not supported by the NBA they would not be viable.
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That is why it makes no sense at all.
The wnba has managed to divide people. How idiotic is that? The biggest wnba sponsors should be called out for letting the league, their investment destroy the wnba itself.
The Fever HC yes own HC was asked after the game if the “mauling” of Cunningham was the right call. She said…YES. If you can’t even protect your own players you have no business being the HC of anything. Clark body response said it all.
I will ask again. Why? That makes no sense whatsoever.
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Without the controversies would anybody watch?
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Strange business model.
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I just cleaned this thread up. If your stuff was deleted, please don’t go back down those rabbit holes.
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But is it actually destroying the WNBA currently?
They are profitable and have a great long term media contract. Each team is worth at least $300 Million, based on what Tillman paid for his.
Viewership is still up, as are ticket sales per these next two articles.
https://seatgeek.com/blog/how-wnba-nwsl-and-ncaa-stars-are-changing-ticket-sales
To be fair, there are several WNBA franchises that are operating at near break even or loss levels; other top teams are making BIG profits.
BUT…the league’s massive new $281 million media deal helped trigger its first ever player revenue sharing pool, so it appears that overall, the league is in the black.
And it’s likely to go up from there. Given that, the business model doesn’t seem like a bad one and the controversies don’t appear to be hurting much.
My general guess is as long as they can grow ratings over the years, they will be fine when the next media contract comes around. Until then, they have guaranteed revenues for at least 8 more years (I forget the exact timing on when the contract started but it was a 10 or 11 year deal).
If they start showing a ratings decline as it comes time to negotiate a new deal, or if it remains flat for a number of years, then they might be in trouble.
I hope the new WNBA team in Houston is a great success!
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I do as well. just not my thing.
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In order to sell basketball to potential new fans, you either have to do the things below to gain new followers.
-
Promote player rivalry
Kobe vs LeBron/Shaq
Jordan vs Bad Boy Pistons -
Promote long term team rivalries.
Think 80s Lakers vs Celtics
2000s Spurs vs Lakers -
Spotlight characters and personalities
Allen Iverson
Rasheed Wallace
Ron Artest
Jordan
Larry Bird
It’s definitely getting better… I was in the “It’s unwatchable camp” up until here very recently, but the ladies have been getting a lot better.
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Sophie fan huh?
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I am but I don’t watch her games or any of their games for that matter…
She just gets a lot of headlines…
The little bit I have caught (because they are trying to stuff it down our throats) the game looks more exciting and seems to have a higher level of play than the miss 5 shots in a row and rebound them to make a layup WNBA that I’ve seen in the past…
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I like Sophie because she plays tough and with an attitude.
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And is shooting 45% from 3 off the bench.
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For all the talk of her getting beat up by defenders, it hasn’t slowin her down at all
She and the team are setting records this year