The Women's National Basketball Association begins its fifth year this weekend, with tip-offs in NBA-controlled arenas across the country. WNBA Commissioner Val Ackerman trumpets the stability of her product, noting that the league has survived and thrived over the previous four years -- and arguing that the NBA itself took a decade to stabilize after its inception in 1946.

Since the WNBA launch in 1997, all women's sports have taken giant strides -- the corporate marketing success of the 1999 Women's Soccer World Cup; the five-year, $40 million Sanex sponsorship of the WTA tennis tour; and the new multiyear ESPN television commitment for the women's NCAA Tournament and Final Four.

On the other hand, skeptics point out that the post-Sept. 11 economic turbulence and uncertainty hits the "less established" sports properties the hardest, and the intense competition for corporate and television dollars will make for rough going in the years ahead.

In any event, big-time women's athletics remains a critical component of the sports business, and should be analyzed in at least four areas: (a) the WNBA itself; (b) other women's sports ventures; (c) television and women's sports; and (d) corporate america and women's sports.

The WNBA itself

The league begins this season after attracting over 2.5 million fans to its regular season and playoff games last year. The playoff attendance of 205,734 broke the previous year record of 199,936. However, average regular-season attendance declined to 9,075, marking the third consecutive decline from the peak of 10,869 in 1998.

Demographically, the majority of WNBA fans tend to be women new to professional sports. Ackerman argues that the WNBA has attracted a new type of professional sports fan, though more work must be done to gain support from middle school, high school, and college basketball fans on a consistent basis.

As far as television is concerned, the WNBA receives no up-front rights payment, but the NBA (which owns the WNBA) handles ad sales and shares revenues with NBC and ESPN. The average ratings dropped from 0.6 to 0.4 on ESPN and from 2.0 to 1.1 on NBC over the last five years. Optimists argue these ratings are still as good or better than the NHL or MLS, and local TV ratings were up 39 percent last year. This year's ratings are key, however, as the existing NBC and ESPN deals expire at the end of this season.

Corporately, the WNBA relies on key sponsors such as American Express, Anheuser-Busch, General Motors, Sears, and Nike -- partners since its 1997 inception. Other major "blue chip" companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Lady Foot Locker, Diet Coke, and Gatorade have joined since then. As corporate marketers exploit the NBA ownership connection, and as the WNBA demographics continue to diversify, corporate support should remain strong in future years.

The league faces "growth issues" similar to all other sports. The WNBA players accepted a four-year collective bargaining agreement prior to the 1999 season, and labor discussions will intensify over the next year. At the end of last season, approximately 100 of the league's 176 players met to discuss issues such as salary disparities, rookie incentives, and the like, noting that the veteran minimum salary for 2002 is $40,000, but all 16 first-round draft picks this year will receive up to $57,000 for the top four picks. The league also focuses on expansion -- Chicago promoters failed in their first attempt to land a franchise, but many cities remain interested.

WNBA executives remain confident that steady growth coupled with strong NBA business support is key to its future. Ackerman notes that "we believe as strongly now as we did in 1996 that building this league would be a long process. Patience is critical, and our investors -- the NBA -- are very committed to that." For his part, Commissioner David Stern noted that the WNBA "has become an established landscape in the world of pro sports; attracting 10 million customers in five years, which are extraordinary numbers for professional women's basketball."

Other women's sports ventures

Most executives believe that the women's "big four" -- basketball, golf, soccer, and tennis -- have the best chance of stabilizing over the long-term. The Women's Tennis Association has attracted over four million fans in each of the last two years. During the late 1990's, the Tour's main sponsor (Corel) paid approximately $4 million per year for the product. By the end of 1998, the WTA was without a sponsor. It chose to enter 1999 sponsorless, ultimately finding a "corporate angel" in Sanex, with a five-year deal worth between $32 and $40 million. The WTA has more than doubled its income since 1998, to $25 million last year.

The Ladies Professional Golf Association appears to be the other women's league that is making money -- generating approximately $60 million in overall revenue last year. Total prize money has increased from $17 million in 1991 to $43.5 million by the beginning of this season. Every tournament purse will be over $1.1 million by 2003 -- this year's purse average is slightly less than $1.2 million. This March, Anheuser-Busch ended its 22-year affiliation with the PGA Michelob Championship at Kingsmill in Williamsburg, replacing it with an LPGA event on the same course.

The Women's United Soccer Association began its second season this Spring, replacing its TNT and CNN/SI television deal with a similar arrangement with PAX TV -- reaching about 85 million households. Executives seem bent on improving last year's 0.4 Nielsen rating. During year one, the league averaged 8,133 attendance in eight cities -- exceeding its attendance goal of 7,500 per game. The league attracted half its targeted number of sponsorships -- but re-signed all 10 of its inaugural sponsors through at least through the 2003 season. All sponsors had the option to terminate their respective agreements when the WUSA ended its prior television arrangement, but "blue chip" companies such as Gatorade, MBNA, Aflac, and Johnson & Johnson remain committed.

The "secondary" women's leagues face an uphill struggle, however. The Women's Pro Softball League -- launched in 1997 -- disbanded last year, though it is planning a rebirth next year with new investors. The United States Professional Volleyball League planned to compete in 16 cities by 2005, raising $9 million from initial venture capital The Women's Professional Football League went out of business in early 2001, though women's professional football has existed in some form since 1972.

Other traditionally male-dominated professional sports are seeing women participants as well -- USA Boxing has 2,000 amateur women, up from 340 five years ago, and the Laila Ali-Jacqui Frazier-Lyde pro fight drew 80,000 pay-per-view orders last year.

Television and women's sports

More women viewers continue to watch sports than at any time in television history. Females make up nearly 40 percent of the network viewing audience for regular season NFL, NBA, NHL, and Major League Baseball games. Female viewing habits appear to be consistent across a variety of sports -- females make up nearly 30 percent of the men's college basketball audience and up to 40 percent of women's basketball. The numbers are similar for pro golf as well.

The "break" for women's sports television economics has centered around college basketball. The over $200 million, 11-year deal between ESPN and the NCAA will showcase all 63 games of the women's NCAA basketball tournament (along with softball, volleyball, swimming, Division II basketball, and other sports). This year's telecast of the Sunday night Connecticut-Oklahoma Women's Basketball Final earned a 4.1 rating -- 24 percent higher than last year's final, becoming the most viewed basketball game in ESPN's 23-season basketball history.

Last year's prime time U.S. Tennis Open women's final between the Williams sisters drew a 6.8 rating -- compared to the 4.8 earned by NBC for the Notre Dame-Nebraska football game across the dial at the same time. The key will be whether these "one shot" events are strong enough to raise the value of television rights across the broad spectrum of women's athletics.

In the meantime, international television provides some revenue for the industry -- especially with the WNBA, WTA, and LPGA. Canadian-based WTFN became the first women's sports network this year. The WBNA inked broadcast agreements in England, Germany, Italy, Uruguay, Ghana, Lithuania, and Haiti, with broadcasts shown in 125 countries via 37 broadcasters in 17 languages. Executives hope that such substantial exposure will lead to some television revenue to follow.

Corporate america and women's sports

Corporate marketing executives still believe that women's sports provide the greatest untapped potential in the industry. Women make 85 percent of consumer purchases and influence 95 percent of all buying for sporting goods and services. Women's sports have passed the $1 billion mark in total sponsorship revenue.

Companies such as State Farm have focused exclusively on women's sports since 1991, and corporations like Anheuser-Busch, American Express, Merrill Lynch, and NASDAQ have teamed up with all or most of the "Big Four" -- WNBA, LPGA, WTA, and WUSA.

From another perspective, NASCAR audiences have become nearly 40 percent female during the past 10 years, up from 25 percent, and many believe that corporate sponsorship will follow over time. While auto racing sponsors remain a traditionally "male dominated" breed, some short-term breakthrough continues to occur. IRL driver Sarah Fisher recently signed a four-year deal to endorse Raybestos Brakes -- the company notes that 60 percent of brake repair choices are made by females.

The "branding" of women's sports remains a key future challenge. The Women's Sports Foundation has unveiled a multi-million dollar "awareness campaign" to generate over 200 million "impressions" promoting women's sports. Last fall, Reebok launched its most aggressive women's marketing initiative in its 22-year history during CBS' Survivor Africa -- debuting women focused ads as part of its global "Defy Convention" brand campaign. The "It's a Women's World" advertising initiative signaled Reebok's intense commitment to the market.

Much more needs to be done, however. The Women in Intercollegiate Sports Survey revealed that 90.3 percent of new coaching jobs in women's collegiate sports since 2000 have gone to men. The WNBA faces labor issues and television uncertainty, while the industry continues to face skepticism as to its overall economic viability. However, slow, steady progress with corporate, television, attendance, and demographic issues have led to WNBA stability after a four-year growth spurt. As WNBA Commissioner Val Ackerman says, the "enemy of all of this is impatience. Look how long it's taken men's sports to get to where they are."