WNBA Losing Oxygen?
By R. Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 8/21/2003 12:29:00 PM
As Oxygen nears the end of its two-year programming agreement with the Women’s National Basketball Association, network executives are undecided about renewing the deal.
The network averaged a 0.2 rating for its 13-game regular-season WNBA schedule. Oxygen was not rated during last year’s 11-game WNBA package.
The network will air at least two playoff games beginning this week, with the possibility of airing up to four.
"We’ve been fortunate in terms of having great matchups and continuity, airing the games live on Tuesdays," Oxygen Sports president and executive producer Lydia Stephans said. "The ratings have been doing quite well -- it’s been on par with the rest of the lineup."
Nevertheless, the network is waiting until after the playoffs to determine whether it will extend its agreement with the league.
The WNBA’s other cable partner, ESPN2, will present up to 10 league playoff games, tipping Aug. 28.
The network averaged a 0.25 rating for its first seven-regular season telecasts, nearly even with last year’s 0.26 mark for 10 contests. During last year’s playoffs, ESPN averaged a 0.28 for three games, while ESPN2 pulled a 0.33 average for eight games, according to the network.
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