ures of the WNBA. It will conclude with an analysis of the future potential of this professional sports league to become more competitive with the NBA and more capable of drawing the kind of fan support that menÆs professional basketball enjoys in the United States and across the globe. It will be argued that while the players and coaches and owners of the WNBA are right in saying ôWe Got Game,ö the league remains a relatively minor presence in the crowded professional sports sector.
Briefly, the history of the WNBA can be summarized by pointing out that in 15 months from announcement of league formation to the first tip-off, events moved rapidly to bring womenÆs professional basketball to the fans (WNBA, 2000). It was decided early on that the WNBA would establish its season in the summer, when the domestic sports calendar was less crowded and the games could be televised live and in prime time to reach the largest possible audience. During the first season of play, more than 50 million viewers watched WNBA games on the three networks carrying the games (i.e., NBC, ESPN, and Lifetime) (WNBA, 2000).
By 1999, WNBA games were being broadcast in over 125 countries with 37 broadcasters in 17 languages. Among those countries were Germany, Ghana, Haiti, Italy, Lithuania, Uruguay, the United Kingdom and Canada. Canada aired a weekly Friday night game on CTV Sportsnet, and nearly one million viewers per week watched the WNBA on national television during the second and third seasons (WNBA, 2000). Game attendance in-arena is known to consist of 70 percent female and 30 percent male fans; TV games draw an audience of about equal numbers of men and women, with a strong percentage of non-adult (under age 18) viewers (WNBA, 2000).
McConville (1996) reported as the WNBA was being formed that the TV networks did not pay the league up-front fees, but participated in a revenue-sharing plan with sales handled by the WNBA. Initially, 8 t...