WTF does ESPN have WNBA as the main story on landing page?

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

I have nothing against women's basketball but there is no way the WNBA is drawing 1/100th of the people going to EPSN right now. Is this some media rights thing so they don't want to pump something that doesn't increase their own viewership? I've never noticed because they usually have the biggest game of the day on the front page.

 

[ACamp1900]

Since the whole Russia debacle it’s been all over my feed,…

 

[bobbyok1]

Woke nonsense. Sorry, but true . . . "Bring the margins to the middle." Marxist ideology. "Wokeism" = Marxism

I'll be glad to enumerate the ways if needed.

 

[du Lac]

Woke nonsense. Sorry, but true . . . "Bring the margins to the middle." Marxist ideology

Amen

 

[notredomer23]

I can’t imagine their ratings would even hit 100K if they didn’t have great lead ins on ABC and ESPN

 

[NDPhilly]

Its on their network and the NFL is on Amazon

 

[notredomer23]

'Where the heck are the women?' Why women's sports could see financial boon in future TV deals

As fan and sponsor interest in women's sports continue to grow, and media landscape shifts, women's sports could see a TV revenue boon soon.

www.usatoday.com

In a 2020 report, Deloitte spotlighted women's sports as "ripe for greater monetization," predicting that it will become a $1 billion industry in the coming years. And rights fees from TV deals are expected to be one of the main engines behind such growth.

Might be more effective to put that billion in a furnace

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

Its on their network and the NFL is on Amazon

That's literally what I was asking. Is it standard practice for them to put their content in the lead, even when it's not main event that is drawing traffic to their site. Sounds like no one knows. I was hesitating to go to the camp of "woke media" because I like to give good faith to start these questions.

 

[Henges24]

The amount of cringe that is being presented in front of us today is embarrassing.

 

[ACamp1900]

The amount of cringe that is being presented in front of us today is embarrassing.

I guess this is the right time to debut pics of me in my leak protection underwater then,……

 

[mango4]

ESPN has the WNBA right and promotes the hell out of it because they have those rights. If they didn’t have the rights, they wouldn’t care. Just like the NHL. Why are you guys shocked by this?

 

[Henges24]

I guess this is the right time to debut pics of me in my leak protection underwater then,……

Wait for a bigger payday…..please.

 

[ACamp1900]

Wait for a bigger payday…..please.

Ask and thou shall receive!!!

 

[bobbyok1]

SouthSideChiDomer & ColinKSU​

How about intelligent responses as opposed to "boos." Geez, give me a break

 

[SouthSideChiDomer]

That's literally what I was asking. Is it standard practice for them to put their content in the lead, even when it's not main event that is drawing traffic to their site. Sounds like no one knows. I was hesitating to go to the camp of "woke media" because I like to give good faith to start these questions.

Women's sports draw significant fan engagement disproportionate to their viewership numbers. Coupled with the fact ESPN was showing a big game versus the NFL game being on Amazon, it makes sense that the WNBA was the main story. I haven't checked, but there are probably a lot of NFL stories, but the ones that might draw the most engagement are probably things they want behind a paywall: advanced stats, fantasy, and gambling.

 

[SouthSideChiDomer]

SouthSideChiDomer & ColinKSU​

How about intelligent responses as opposed to "boos." Geez, give me a break

I tried, but I couldn't form a response without a profanity laced tirade, so I thought it better to not say anything at all instead of answering hatred with more hatred.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

It’s funny b/c it’s true. Bill Burr is the best.

 

[Te'o4Heisman]

I tried, but I couldn't form a response without a profanity laced tirade, so I thought it better to not say anything at all instead of answering hatred with more hatred.

Sorry dude, but he’s not wrong.

 

[Rack Em]

Womens sports suck

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

Women's sports draw significant fan engagement disproportionate to their viewership numbers. Coupled with the fact ESPN was showing a big game versus the NFL game being on Amazon, it makes sense that the WNBA was the main story. I haven't checked, but there are probably a lot of NFL stories, but the ones that might draw the most engagement are probably things they want behind a paywall: advanced stats, fantasy, and gambling.

Show me these stats and then in comparison to the NFL. I'd love to see stats on "fan engagement disproportionate to their viewing #s". Isn't that like saying they only have 10k fans but they are rabid?

 

[T-Boone]

Womens sports suck

Volleyball is good

 

[Blazers46]

Average viewers (per google search)

A regular season NBA game is about 1.5 million.

MLB about 750,000

NFL 17,000,000 per game.

WNBA regular season ~ 350,000

Cornhole on ESPN2 ~ 300,000

WNBA Postseason ~ 400,000

NBA postseason ~ 3,500,000

MLB postseason. ~ 4,400,000

NFL postseason ~ 37,000,000

ESPN First Take ~ 389,000 (worst rated show on ESPN)

XFL over 1,000,000

 

[GATTACA!]

If they're going to shove it down our throats is it too much to ask that girls at least be hot?

 

[MacIrish75]

NCAA Softball is also solid.

My thing with the WNBA is that the product isn’t much different than a good high school girls’ basketball game. I’ll go to a game—take my daughter to a game—but I’m not going to take time to watch on tv or spend money on merch.

 

[NDRock]

ESPN has the WNBA right and promotes the hell out of it because they have those rights. If they didn’t have the rights, they wouldn’t care. Just like the NHL. Why are you guys shocked by this?

Yep. It’s capitalism. They’re promoting and selling their product. It’s a shitty product.

 

[ShamrockOnHelmet]

I have nothing against women's basketball but there is no way the WNBA is drawing 1/100th of the people going to EPSN right now. Is this some media rights thing so they don't want to pump something that doesn't increase their own viewership? I've never noticed because they usually have the biggest game of the day on the front page.

You know why…

 

[IrishLion]

Holy shit, it feels like we are dangerously close to stepping into a season one episode of Mad Men on here*.

There isn't some grand woke conspiracy to market women's sports over men's sports. Everyone knows where the money is, and everyone knows the local high school boys team could make a run in the WNBA playoffs. It's a simple matter of ESPN marketing their content during the peak of the WNBA season, particularly since they don't have the rights to Thursday Night Football, like @NDPhilly said.

That doesn't mean it's time to tee off on the very idea of women having the audacity to play sports, and the media having the audacity to cover it, regardless of viewership and clicks.

I'll give @Veritate Duce Progredi the benefit of the doubt, that he was verifying it really wasn't some weird media blitz with anti-NFL motives outside of contractual obligations... but maybe let's chill out with the "at least make me a sandwich if you're gonna be playing basketball on my TV" shit.

Haha I get it, Bill Burr is funny and men are better at things. But I'd prefer if IE avoided gender politics, and focused our efforts on higher-priority things, like making fun of scUM and its fans, or threatening to fight each other at the Irsay YMCA over our opinions on Tommy Rees.




*ND football DOES make me want to freight-train cigarettes and drink myself to death, though, so maybe we're already there

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

Haha I get it, Bill Burr is funny and men are better at things. But I'd prefer if IE avoided gender politics, and focused our efforts on higher-priority things, like making fun of scUM and its fans, or threatening to fight each other at the Irsay YMCA over our opinions on Tommy Rees.




*ND football DOES make me want to freight-train cigarettes and drink myself to death, though, so maybe we're already there

I hope this never goes away and we're referencing it for years to come.

 

[notredomer23]

Average viewers (per google search)

A regular season NBA game is about 1.5 million.

MLB about 750,000

NFL 17,000,000 per game.

WNBA regular season ~ 350,000

Cornhole on ESPN2 ~ 300,000

WNBA Postseason ~ 400,000

NBA postseason ~ 3,500,000

MLB postseason. ~ 4,400,000

NFL postseason ~ 37,000,000

ESPN First Take ~ 389,000 (worst rated show on ESPN)

XFL over 1,000,000

WNBA takes aside, wtf is watching Cornhole and the XFL?!

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]