Charters @ 2 million a year ? that's roughly 100K per charter ?
Here's the "almost" middle of the country Indiana Fever 2024 schedule
East coast and north and midwest are short hops, otherwise ? whoa....charters almost seem reasonable ?
Posted on 10/19/2024 4:14:30 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
The WNBA is coming off of its most-popular season in league history with the arrival of Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and the rest of the 2024 rookie class. It is still going to lose a lot of money and NBA owners are reportedly furious with the continued financial struggles.
They are tired of paying to prop someone else up.
According to the New York Post, the WNBA will lost $40 million this season. This is the 26th-straight year where it will fail to turn a profit. Never before has the professional women’s basketball league made a single dollar since it first came to exist in the spring of 1996.
The NBA owns approximately 60% of its female counterpart. That number is actually closer to 75% when the owners’ personal stakes are factored into the equation.
NBA team owners want to see a return on their investment into the WNBA. They are frustrated.
To be fair, the WNBA was projected to lose $50 million in 2024. It did $10 million better than expected — in a year that saw unprecedented viewership, attendance and popularity — and… still lost money.
The WNBA can’t turn a profit.
(Excerpt) Read more at brobible.com ...
I remember when this league first started and I noticed that the scores at the end of each game mirrored high school or college bb scoring, not professional scoring, that we are used to with the men. So, I decided that paying to see high school/(maybe)college level play at professional prices was not going to work, or get a large audience.
I’d maybe go a little further. Players are making bank off endorsements. Product advertising dollars go to media. So, when negotiating endorsement packages for players, add a 10% premium to be paid directly to the league. Media still get their money, players still get their endorsement money and the league that produces the players get a payoff, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGP91g4O2Uw&t=121s
Above is a 25 minute thing from NBC sports called “The Road through Warroad” from 7 years ago. The town, as much of Northern Minnesota, HS hockey is a big thing. The small towns in the north were dominant until the suburban schools started spending money on indoor rinks.
There are a dozen ‘angles’ to the WNBA, it’s designed ‘success’, and where things go now.
First, I think the NBA ownership saw it originally designed as a ‘cash-cow’ that they could be able to lose money, so on tax forms...each NBA owner got a percentage of the lost capital. If you dug through tax laws/credits...there’s likely a special law from the 1990s giving them a hefty tax credit.
Second, I don’t think the female players ever understood profits, losses, or the necessity of improving the league. They just wanted a ‘status’, some lesbian situations, cult-like following, and some marginal pay scale.
Third, along comes Caitlan Clark amid a group of jealous female players who don’t want any improvement. WNBA owners could not get their hands around this transformation going on and how to control the ‘cash-cow’.
Fourth, Clark will go and play in the Euro league...getting US media contracts, and a change in pay-scale. The Euro League will carve out solid profit and a fan base over 2025 and 2026.
Finally, I don’t expect the WNBA to survive past 2026. It’ll be forced to merge into the Euro League, and some joint league (like MLB’s National League/American League) will exist...without NBA help.
The jealousy business, the lesbian angle....will close out by 2027, and ESPN will likely not exist as in present form.
In the end...Clark will bring about a evolution.
Imho, they need to make the hoops lower, the basketballs are already smaller. Then put in sexier outfits.
And reduce salaries to reflect viewership.
Look at ladies tennis for inspiration.
Btw, Women’s track and field, especially High jump (Levchenko, Mahuchikh), Pole Vault (Embla Matilde Njerve) and triple jump (Teodora Boberic).....
Yep, along with International Falls, Baudette, Roseau. I played in Fort Francis, across the river from International Falls. My dad knew Bill and Roger Christian, when they played for the Warroad Lakers. Then they played on the 1960 Olympic gold medal team. I got to hold their gold medal in my hot little hand. Later, they started making hockey 🏒 sticks. A couple years ago, East Grand Forks, was coached by the son of a former team mate. They won two state championships in their division. I played with the son of the man who financed the “Ralph,” in Grand Forks. He also built an arena in his home town, of Thief River Falls. I think the “Ralph,” is a world heritage site, and is in my bucket list.
I forgot to mention Eveleth, Hibbing, Grand Rapids, Hermantown/Cloquet and Duluth, all right next to each other. John Mariucci was from Eveleth.
Charters actually can be competitive, if you’re filling every seat and you’re otherwise flying business class, and depending on which vehicle the charter has available (prices vary based on the make/model you’re flying too).
They’re certainly not competitive with coach/economy.
I would have been broke a long, long time ago at that rate & bankruptcy would have been a distant memory.
Please, no. Have you ever seen these "girls."
The NBA is propping up a giant prop to the feminists. The WNBA loses money just as a “women’s” baseball league would - THE AUDIENCE NEEDED IS NOT THEIR, NOT ENOUGH MEN AND WOMEN CARE TO WATCH.
The extreme branches of feminism deny our natural human instincts.
20 away games in a season. 12 players plus 8 employees so you have 20 total. So 20k for 1 trip.
So my guess is $400,000. No more than $500,000.
Now it's up to $2,000,000 per team. For 12 teams, they're paying $18,000,000 more than they used to.
They're making little bit more money with CC. But not enough
The new TV contract will start in 2026 season so they will have the money by then.
They will just have to anticipate to write off $40 million in losses for 2025 season.
https://www.evojets.com/charter-flight-cost-calculator/
Using a calculator for a quick calculation for a commercial flight Indy-Seattle for 25 people economy - depending on day of the week flying - is approx. 15k. - as always subject to the airlines flight times
charter still seems cheap at those prices for the convenience.
If I'm any charter airlines, I try to make a deal with the NBA for exclusive rights in exchange for a reduced fee.
interesting discussion and projections based on limited knowledge on our part...
thanks for that. i should have included you on my post # 74
Seriously, what did the owners expect?
And it’s not like the feminists care about watching the WNBA.
I believe they'll make $200 million in the new tv deal starting in 2026. So the time is right to expand.
I'm not sure if the numbers work even if you get one million viewers per game to watch Caitlin Clark. And there's no guarantee that her popularity is sustainable. Casual fans may be turned off by the game even though Caitlin Clark continues to be a class act.
If I ever get the urge to watch the WNBA (or the NBA doe that matter), I’ll just lie down until it goes away.
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