News: A&E Lifetime deal ends a year early

League press release:
http://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/#ae-networks-nwsl-end-partnership

A lot of positive spin and something about a "sleeve sponsorship", but it looks like the game of the week on Lifetime is done and distribution will continue through Verizon.

From my experience last night with the CONCACAF Champions League, the Yahoo! sports feed had none of the old Go90 problems. That said, several of us couldn't get the chromecast to work - I ended up casting the tab from laptop with no issues.

 

Well let's be honest. The NWSL is a minor league. It might be the best league of women's soccer teams on the planet, but it's not a "major" league in any sense other than the players on the field.

The WUSA's big mistake was trying to operate as a major league. They burned through five years of cash in one year. The plug was almost pulled mid-season of the second season and the third season only happened because of the hope that the SARS relocated WWC03 would re-kindle the WWC99 magic.

The NWSL's main objective is to just keep surviving. So far, so good.

 

I thought about posting it there, but the loss of the national broadcast seemed to me to deserve its own discussion. Then again, there's not really much traffic here anymore.

 

Agreed, but the "equity" could have just been A&E paying for all associated broadcast costs. In the end this could be much ado about nothing other than the bad optics of losing broadcast distribution.

NWSL is a niche league, and as long as the digital distribution through Yahoo! works, the fans looking for games are going to find them.

What is lost is the potential drive-by tune-ins, the ability to find a screen at a sports bar/restaurant, and the appeal of that to current and potential league sponsors. And the relative lack of league sponsors is the bigger issue.

In the end, the WUSA only ever filled 2 of 8 "premium sponsor" slots. Maytag and Hyundai if I recall with Aflac and a couple other second tier sponsors. Not enough to cover league operations.

Last I checked the league still only hand USSF hand me down sponsors - Cutter, Nike, and Thorne - plus Lifetime, which is still listed.

 

More detail from Goff:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/spor...tworks-major-investor/?utm_term=.cb399da365c5

 

Maybe the league is placing it's bets that they'll get a WWC19 bump like MLS got from WC02.

Then again, it could also be part of the larger behind the scenes stuff with the league. With a section of the owners likely wanting to pull away from USSF direct control into either and independent league or allied with another soccer organization (the USL rumors from last year), being unencumbered from some of the USSF negotiated contracts for a brief time might not be a terrible thing.

I've stated around here multiple times that I don't really see a way forward for the league until it deals with the player-caste system and the fact that the designated "federation players" aren't under league contract.

This announcement could just be on piece of a larger puzzle that's being worked on behind the scenes.

Disclaimer: While I do work indirectly for the league (as a photographer for ISIphotos, the league's contracted photo agency), and I know many of the principles involved personally from my many years in the industry, I'm not longer part of the written media. I don't talk to people about what is going on, and I have no current insider knowledge. I'm also not shilling for anybody. I want the league to survive and thrive, and like most of you I have opinions! Lots and lots of opinions!

 

I think so. But it may have just been a stake as a payoff in case everything with the broadcast platform worked in exchange for A&E's investment/covering the costs. A&E certainly doesn't want 25% of the losses.

 

Did we know that they weren't? The Courage had a local TV deal.

 

To be fair, only one player passed out.