By Laura Pappano

The abrupt folding of the St. Louis Athletica, forcing the Women’s Professional Soccer league to mid-season reshuffle its schedule, was the latest reminder of a nagging problem: Making money in women’s pro sports. (Or merely staying solvent).

This has nothing to do with quality of play or competition. The games are terrific, fan-friendly, compelling sporting events. It is not about the product.

Yet, the WPS can feel more like an old-style barnstorming circuit than a league. Granted, when one talks of sports “leagues” these days, the NFL jumps to mind with its attendant successes and challenges (such as the Supreme Court’s rejection of the NFL’s argument that it should be immune from anti-trust violations because it is a single entity not a collection of 32 teams or a possible player lockout in 2011.)

Unfortunately, these are headaches that WPS (or the WNBA, for that matter) could only dream of having. It is blatantly unfair to compare the NFL and women’s sports. But what turned the NFL from an afterthought to dominance in America’s (and soon the world…?) sporting conscious was effective marketing and promotion. (Book recommendation: America’s Game by Michael MacCambridge).

Here’s where Australian Netball comes in.

Last month in Sydney I had a chance to talk with Kate Palmer, the CEO of Netball Australia about how they revamped this women’s pro sport and in two years have made it into a $21 million business (I know, not NFL figures, but a start…) with a large fan following, TV exposure, and full sponsorship.

What they did reflects a strategy that recognizes that fans watch sports not just because they inherently love the sport, but because they are entertained. Who would have thought netball would be compelling TV? This is not to suggest that the WNBA or the WPS are not building a market (they are), but to offer a window on something that’s working.

“We refreshed the product,” says Palmer. “We looked at the way it was presented. It’s an entertainment product, not just a sport.”

Here’s what Palmer and her team did to take a sport played by 1.3 million Australian women and about 30,000 men and make it a popular fan sport:

1. In revamping the sport, they focused on what customers wanted who watched on TV and attended games.
2. Created competition with New Zealand. Research shows that women’s sports coverage increases during the Olympics; there is also heightened interest in nation-based competition.
3. Got an agreement with ABC in Australia ( the public broadcasting station) to show the games on TV.
4. They changed the rules to speed up the game.
5. They put more cameras on the court to be able to get closer to the action and show more angles of play.
6. Changed the women’s uniforms, says Palmer, to make them, “not as girly.” Now, she says, “they look really athletic.”
7. Uniform courts/branding. The court areas are uniform at every venue and Netball Australia brings in its own branding and marketing to every game venue. (This uniformity obviously also serves sponsors who know how they will be presented at every game).

As a result, says Palmer, the average women’s professional netball player makes about $30,000 for the April through August season. Stars (with sponsorship dollars) earn about $100,000.

“We did a lot of research. It was really about understanding the market and making sure our partners leveraged the heck out of us,” she says. “We’ve created a $21 million business. We are financially sustainable. We are oversubscribed with sponsors.”

Netball Australia CEO Kate Palmer

View Original Post at fairgamenews.com

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