Compare And Contrast Wnba Vs Nba

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Ever since its debut by gym teacher Dr. James Naismith in 1891 basketball has become a widely popularized team sport for both men and women across the nation. Though enjoyed by both men and women, women have struggled to attain the same respect in the sport as men, even though the women at the University of California had their first extramural game in 1892. The same trend continues in the NBA, National Basketball Association, and WNBA, Women’s National Basketball. The NBA started 70 years ago in 1946 while the WNBA began 20 years ago in 1996. The NBA continues to gain popularity, while the WNBA struggles to still be known. The WNBA’s ticket prices are a lot less expensive than NBA tickets. The WNBA is still less successful than the NBA because …show more content…

The ticket prices are a lot more expensive for the NBA than the WNBA. For example, the tickets for the New York Liberty in the lower part of section 109, in Madison Square Garden, are $69 each. However, it is $238 per ticket on Stub Hub to watch the New York Knicks. NBA tickets are in a higher demand because more people want to watch, therefore, the tickets are more expensive and the NBA makes a larger profit. This is a major struggle in the WNBA because not many people watch the games, and many believe watching the WNBA is “boring”. Also, the NBA is more advertised on TV compared to the WNBA. The NBA has many commercials that show the dunks and all of the things that don’t happen in the WNBA. For example, there was a commercial made in 2012 that shows a shot from the opposite foul line and at the end of the commercial said “watch the NBA and watch this happen”. The WNBA produced a commercial that demonstrated all of the skills that are shown in the WNBA like setting up plays (DuBois). Jeff Pearlman, an author at Sports Illustrated stated, “When the 2009 five-game championship series between Phoenix and Indiana averaged 548,000 viewers. By comparison… Game 5 of the NBA finals drew 18.2 million viewers” (Pearlman). The NBA got more viewers to watch the games because there are more commercials about the players, teams, and games. The WNBA’s ticket prices are a lot less expensive than NBA tickets and are less