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WNBA scores big sponsors
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December 19, 1996: 9:29 p.m. ET
Bud, Champion, Spalding and Lee all sign on to sponsor women's basketball
From Correspondent Sean Callebs
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Like players scrambling for a loose ball, the new Women's National Basketball Association is out fighting -- in this case, for financial backing.
While the women's branch of the NBA won't take to the courts until next year, the league Thursday signed up four big sponsors -- Bud Light, Champion Athletic Apparel, Spalding and Lee Jeans.(QuickTime Movie 1MB)
Ellen Rohde, vice president of Lee, said her company sees the WNBA as "promoting confident, attractive, very successful women -- the kind of women we want to be associated with our brand."
 Yet the new league already faces competition.
Another women's basketball association, the American Basketball League, has already begun play.
The ABL also has its own stable of sponsors, including Reebok, Nissan and Lady Footlocker.
However, those sponsors aren't paying the big bucks that the WNBA is commanding.
And while both leagues have TV contracts, the WNBA's deal offers a far higher profile -- air time on NBC, ESPN and Lifetime, compared with SportsChannel and Prime TV for the ABL.(QuickTime Movie 875K)
Sports marketers say it's clear that the long, powerful arm of the NBA is a big reason for the differences.
 "It reminds you of the old days of the (now-defunct American Basketball Association) versus the NBA," said sports marketer David Fishof. "The NBA has always proved stronger."
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WNBA.Com
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