WNBA on Oxygen

Last updated
WNBA on Oxygen
Genre WNBA basketball telecasts
Directed bySuzanne Smith [1]
Starring Debbie Antonelli
Krista Blunk
Swin Cash
Heather Cox
Eric Frede
Mark Morgan
Beth Mowins
Sue Wicks
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
Production
Executive producerLydia Stephans
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time120 minutes+
Production company Oxygen Sports
Original release
Network Oxygen
ReleaseJune 4, 2002 (2002-06-04) 
2004 (2004)
Related
WNBA on ABC
WNBA on ESPN
WNBA on NBC

The WNBA on Oxygen refers to the presentation of Women's National Basketball Association games on the Oxygen [2] pay television channel. Prior to 2005, [3] the channel carried a limited schedule of regular season WNBA games produced by NBA TV. Oxygen had de facto picked up the games that previously aired on Lifetime. [4] [5] Oxygen's first WNBA telecast was on June 4, 2002. [6]

Contents

Coverage

Oxygen's relationship with the WNBA began with a two-year agreement [7] that called for them to televise a minimum of 11 games on Tuesday [8] nights during the 2002 season and weekly games [9] as well as playoff action during the 2003 season. Oxygen joined NBC, [10] [11] [12] ESPN [13] and ESPN2 [14] in televising WNBA games for the 2002 season. The deal called for NBA Productions [15] to produce the games, and the league would sell the ad time. [16] [17] Oxygen meanwhile, would get promotional spots during the games. Oxygen however, would provide the announcers [18] and handle the halftime on-air duties themselves. Oxygen's halftime reports were sponsored by AIG VALIC.

For the 2003 season, Oxygen averaged a 0.2 rating [19] for its 13-game regular-season WNBA schedule. They were also expected to air at least two playoff games (such as Game 3s [20] of the WNBA conference semifinals [21] [22] ), with the possibility of airing up to four. By 2004, [23] Oxygen's ratings dropped to a 0.1 from a 0.2, though only five games aired on the network that year compared with 13 from 2003. [24] [25]

Commentators

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's National Basketball Association</span> Professional womens basketball league in the United States

The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league based in the United States. It is composed of 12 teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association (NBA), and league play started in 1997. The regular season is played from May to September, with the All-Star game being played midway through the season in July and the WNBA Finals at the end of September until the beginning of October.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's United Soccer Association</span> Professional soccer league

The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the United States. The league suspended operations on September 15, 2003, shortly after the end of its third season, after making cumulative losses of around US$100 million.

ESPNews is an American multinational digital cable and satellite television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NBA TV</span> American sports pay television network

NBA TV is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through TNT Sports. Dedicated to basketball, the network features exhibition, regular season and playoff game broadcasts from the NBA and related professional basketball leagues, as well as NBA-related content including analysis programs, specials and documentaries. The network is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The network also serves as the national broadcaster of the NBA G League and WNBA games. NBA TV is the oldest subscription network in North America to be owned or controlled by a professional sports league, having launched on November 2, 1999.

<i>NBA on NBC</i> US television program

The NBA on NBC is the branding used for presentations of National Basketball Association (NBA) games produced by NBC Sports.

Nationally television broadcasts of National Basketball Association (NBA) games first aired on ABC from 1965 to 1973. In 2002, NBA games returned to ABC as part of a contract signed with the league, along with cable sister network ESPN. After the ABC Sports division was merged into ESPN Inc. by parent company Disney in 2006, broadcasts have since been produced by ESPN, and have primarily used the NBA on ESPN branding and graphics instead of the NBA on ABC branding.

<i>NBA on CBS</i> American TV series or program

The NBA on CBS is the branding that is used for weekly broadcasts of National Basketball Association (NBA) games produced by CBS Sports, the sports division of the CBS television network in the United States. CBS aired NBA games from the 1973–74 NBA season until the 1989–90 NBA season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NBA on television</span>

National Basketball Association (NBA) games are televised nationally in the United States, as well as on multiple local channels and regional sports networks. Since the 2002–03 season, broadcast channel ABC, and pay TV networks ESPN and TNT have nationally televised games. Throughout most of the regular season, ESPN shows doubleheaders on Wednesday and Friday nights, while TNT shows doubleheaders on Tuesday and Thursday nights. In the second half of the season, ABC shows a single game on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons. Games are shown almost every night on NBA TV. There are some exceptions to this schedule, including Tip-off Week, Christmas Day, and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. More games may be shown as the end of the regular season approaches, particularly games with playoff significance. During the playoffs, the first round are split between TNT, ESPN, NBA TV, and ABC on mostly weekends the second round are split between ESPN, TNT and ABC on weekends. The conference finals are split between ESPN/ABC and TNT; the two networks alternate which complete series they will carry from year to year. The entire NBA Finals is shown nationally on ABC. The NBA Finals is one of the few sporting events to be shown on a national broadcast network on a weeknight. Two new partners are set to join ESPN/ABC in televising the NBA in the 2025–26 season, with NBC Sports and Amazon Prime Video replacing TNT.

<i>WNBA on ESPN</i> US television program

The WNBA on ESPN refers to the presentation of Women's National Basketball Association games on the ESPN family of networks. Under the title of WNBA Tuesday, games are broadcast throughout the WNBA season on Tuesday nights on ESPN2.

<i>NBA on ESPN</i> US television program

The NBA on ESPN is the branding used for the presentation of National Basketball Association (NBA) games on the ESPN family of networks. The ESPN cable network first televised NBA games from 1982 until 1984, and has been airing games currently since the 2002–03 NBA season. ESPN2 began airing a limited schedule of NBA games in 2002. ABC began televising NBA games under full ESPN production in 2006. On October 6, 2014, ESPN and the NBA renewed their agreement through 2025, and on July 24, 2024 it’s agreement was renewed through 2036.

ESPN Megacast, formerly known as ESPN Full Circle, is a multi-network simulcast of a single sporting event across multiple ESPN networks and services—with each feed providing a different version of the telecast making use of different features, functions or perspectives. These simulcasts typically involve ESPN's linear television channels and internet streaming platforms, and may occasionally incorporate other Walt Disney Television networks at once.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ESPN Classic</span> American television channel telecasting vintage sporting events (1995-2021)

ESPN Classic was an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications.

In the United States, sports are televised on various broadcast networks, national and specialty sports cable channels, and regional sports networks. U.S. sports rights are estimated to be worth a total of $22.42 billion in 2019, about 44 percent of the total worldwide sports media market. U.S. networks are willing to pay a significant amount of money for television sports contracts because it attracts large amounts of viewership; live sport broadcasts accounted for 44 of the 50 list of most watched television broadcasts in the United States in 2016.

The WNBA on ABC is the branding used for presentations of Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) games produced ESPN and broadcast on the ABC television network in the United States Since 2006 due to ABC being integrated into ESPN.

The WNBA on NBC is the branding used for presentations of Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) games produced by NBC Sports and broadcast on the NBC television network in the United States.

As the national broadcaster of the NBA, CBS aired NBA games from the 1973–74 until the 1989–90 season, during which the early 1980s is notoriously known as the tape delay playoff era.

<i>WNBA on Lifetime</i> American TV series or program

The WNBA on Lifetime refers to the presentation of Women's National Basketball Association games on the Lifetime television network.

The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league with teams in the United States and Canada. Games have been broadcast on television in some capacity since the league's first season in 1987.

The American Basketball League was the first independent professional basketball league for women in the United States. The ABL lasted two full seasons: 1996–97 and 1997–98. On December 22, 1998; with almost no warning, the ABL declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy and suspended operations. Each team had played between 12 and 15 games of the 1998–99 season.

References

  1. "2008 Alumni Hall of Fame Honoree". Lew Klien Awards.
  2. Principles and Practice of Sport Management. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. 17 January 2008. ISBN   9780763762230.
  3. "Eleven years later, the WNBA arrives". Herald Tribune. July 17, 2007.
  4. Dixit, Rajkumar (June 12, 2002). "ESPN2, ABC Grab WNBA TV Rights". Multichannel News.
  5. Branded Faith: Contextualizing the Gospel in a Post-Christian Era. Wipf and Stock Publishers. 7 June 2010. p. 34. ISBN   9781608995592.
  6. Dempsey, John (June 4, 2002). "Oxygen net nabs WNBA". Variety.
  7. Stewart, Larry (June 13, 2002). "Mystics Full of Surprises". Los Angeles Times.
  8. Fuller, Jim (August 28, 2003). "WNBA NOTEBOOK Consolation prize is chance to draft Taurasi". New Haven Register.
  9. Villano, Matt (October 9, 2006). "Eye of the Storm". Seattle Weekly.
  10. Encyclopedia of Sports Management and Marketing. SAGE Publications. 8 August 2011. p. 1662. ISBN   9781452266480.
  11. Swayne, Dodds, Linda E., Mark (June 13, 2002). "Women's NBA in New TV Deal with ABC and ESPN". Sportcal.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. Lopez, John P. (August 31, 2005). "Lopez: WNBA fails to capitalize on strengths". Houston Chronicle.
  13. Brown, Justin (July 19, 2002). "Women's pro basketball wins fans all its own". The Christian Science Monitor.
  14. "2004 WNBA Finals game two plays to full house". Out Sports Central. October 10, 2004.
  15. Romano, Allison (June 4, 2002). "Oxygen nets WNBA games". Broadcasting and Cable.
  16. "Southwest Airlines now official NBA, WNBA airline". Biz Journals. March 6, 2003.
  17. "P&G ADDS TAMPAX TO WNBA PARTNERSHIP". Chief Marketer. May 18, 2004.
  18. Umstead, R. Thomas (June 3, 2002). "Oxygen Gets WNBA Games". Multichannel News.
  19. Umstead, R. Thomas (August 21, 2003). "WNBA Losing Oxygen?". Multichannel.
  20. Utah Starzz at Houston Comets, 2002 WNBA playoffs first round game 3 on YouTube
  21. Anthony, Mike (September 7, 2003). "EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: SUN AT SHOCK". The Hartford Courant.
  22. Voepel, Mechelle (August 22, 2003). "Nothing's ever as simple as it seems". ESPN.com.
  23. Lee, Jennifer (September 27, 2004). "WNBA looks past attendance drop, flat TV". Sports Business Daily.
  24. Terry, Mike (February 10, 2003). "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do". Los Angeles Times.
  25. "League, players hail free agency". The Sacramento Bee. May 21, 2003.
  26. "WNBA Gets A Breath Of Fresh Air With Oxygen Game Of The Week". Sports Business Daily. June 4, 2002.
  27. Bracht, Mel (June 6, 2002). "Handicappers make their picks for Belmont". The Oklahoman.
  28. "Mark Morgan - Host - Sirius XM Radio Inc". LinkedIn.
  29. "Oxygen Media to Televise WNBA Games in 2002-03". WNBA.com. June 3, 2002.
  30. "July 12th, 2003: WNBA All-Star Game". GAME NOTES OF DOOM. January 14, 2008.
  31. "Sports Agency News". Sports Business Daily. June 30, 2003.