On Friday, Unrivaled, a new 3-on-3 women¡¯s basketball league, made its debut. To attract players, it offers the highest average salary in women¡¯s team sports, as well as first-class facilities on par with the National Basketball Association¡¯s. For fans, the league plays a fast-paced, free-flowing version of basketball that empowers players to show off their skills.
It¡¯s a winning combination, and Unrivaled should inspire positive changes in the WNBA and women¡¯s sports in general. But it¡¯s not just women¡¯s sports leagues that should be paying attention. The NBA should watch, too. As it deals with flagging viewership, the men¡¯s league can learn a thing or two from Unrivaled that will help it keep and grow an audience.
It¡¯s an awkward and unexpected position for the world¡¯s most popular basketball league, but something has to be done. Even after the NBA enjoyed some very good news over the summer, when it signed new media rights agreements worth $76 billion over 11 years, there was still the nagging question of what to do about its ratings slump.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.