Introducing The XFL!

It's going to succeed precisely because it shouldn't

-Steve McKee, The Wall Street Journal

On February 3, 2000, at the Times Square entertainment complex of the World Wrestling Federation,
wrestling entrepreneur Vince McMahon formally announced the creation of the XFL. a new, $100 million
football league offering an innovative brand of in-your-face, extreme, authentic football. Initial reaction
among the business community was disappointing. World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc
(WWFE) stock was downgraded and dropped over 25%, to 125/. In late March NBC, led by Sports
Chairman Dick Ebersol, signed on Sports as joint partner in the XFL venture. In the months that followed,
extensive advertising and McMahon's own public statements sensationalized the coming competition,
generating colorful controversy and debate in the media. On February 3, 2001, the XFL's opening game
generated a Nielsen rating of 10.1, higher than any nationally televised program in a Saturday evening
time slot since the Olympics finale the previous summer. The next week, ratings plummeted, and by
week nine the XFL game earned title as the lowest-rated sports event in television history. Co-owners
WWFE and NBC officially disbanded the XFL on May 10, 2001, and, with a combined after-tax loss of
about $70 million, the XFL took its place as one of the most spectacular fiascoes in modern sports and
television history.

Organized Football and the NFL

Similar to rugby, North American-style football was played by two squads competing to move a spheroid-
shaped leather ball across the opposing team's goal line. Each team fielded 11 men at a time, and each
was apportioned four plays, or "downs," to move the ball 10 yards in the desired direction (otherwise,
the opposing team took possession). Much skill and physicality was involved in the sport, including the
full-body tackling and blocking of the defensive players, and the impressive running and passing skills
displayed by the offense. The scheduling of football games, as well as the size and composition of
audiences, differed depending on whether competition took place at the amateur or professional level.
Amateur competitions ranged from local secondary school games waged on modest town fields to the
nationally televised championship games of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which
were played in sold-out stadiums, or "bowls," seating as many as 100,000spectators or more. Mater
college games were generally teprofessional foot afternoons over the 10-to 12-week fall season (minor
games consisted and its 301 went untelevised). independently owned and operated team largely of the
National Footbal League (NFL) before approxiadditional 70.000 fans. NFL. games were nach of which
played in stadrafternoons (with an additional fo-Jamun Sunday night and another netivo televised on
Sunday night) over an extended, Sortimber to-January season. Whereas college work game on
Mondaynerally followed by a truly nations undergrads, and alumni of the schools audience. Also rising in
popularchools involved, professional fi Football league, whose gas by 19 played indoors on a field half
the size of in drawing over a million fans for its tegund the NFL's. Founded games A 1998 ESPN Chilton
Sports football commanded a 1986, Arena football was Poll estimated there were in excess of 72 million
on and plaans of Arena football.s cabl

Originally founded in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, the NFL was revered by
Americans for its traditions angherican Professionaor the athleticism and excellence of its players. One
journalist summarized the NFL's position as follows: "With the other major sports- baseball, basketball
and hockey-lagging in appeal, with leisure time at a premium and the entertainment dollar sliced ever
thinner, the NFL doesn't just rule. It's the sovereign, the monarch, the king. A 2000 ESPN Chilton Sports
Poll found that National League football was America's favorite spectator sport, more popular than
Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Hockey
League (NHL). According to a Peter Harris Research Group study, 41% of Americans listed watching
football on TV as their favorite leisure sports activity The NFL also claimed 11 of the top 22 favorite
sports teams and 5 of the top 12 favorite athletes among those surveyed Asked to name their top sports
fantasy, 22% of respondents to a Marist Institute for Public Opinion survey mentioned throwing a Super
Bowl-winning touchdown, more than those who favored getting a (baseball) World Series-winning hit
(19%), making an NBA title winning shot (14%), or riding the Kentucky Derby winner (12%). With some
$3 billion in annual merchandising revenues, the NFL outdid its nearest competitor by nearly $1 billion.?
Whereas the NBA and a considerable number of baseball franchises experienced operating losses during
the late 1990s, NFL teams were almost universally profitable. As one industry insider remarked: "The NFL
is cut into America's fiber. It's part of our life." Such overwhelming popularity provided the NFL with an
impressive television audience. On any given week during the NFL's regular season, 113 million viewers
tuned in to watch, with a total of 185 million watching at least one game during the season. Typical
regular season games in 1999 drew Nielsen ratings of 11.4 on network TV and 8.1 on cable, more than
the NBA and MLB combined Only one regular sports program-ABC's Monday Night Football-consistently
ranked among the top-20 shows airing on the Big Four networks, thus granting the Monday Night game
rare title as "appointment viewing programming to The Super Bowl was an especially noteworthy TV and
cultural event: a de facto national holiday with its own rituals and traditions." The 1999 Super Bowl
garnered a 43.3 rating, far higher than the 11.3 and 16.0 ratings claimed by the NBA Finals and baseball's
World Series, respectively, that year, 29 of the top 100 television events of all time were Super Bowl
championships. 12 Though network ratings for major sports viewing overall had been in decline for the
past decade due in part to increased competition from secondary and niche sports (e.g., women's
basketball on Lifetime Television, roller derby on TNN, ESPN's X-Games), the NFL remained unmatched
by all but the Olympics. Despite its reach and popularity, 15% of adult males in a 1997 random survey
felt that "TV offered too little football," and 13%, when asked which sport they would like to see more of
on TV, said NFL football 14

Despite its special place in American life, the NFL had taken harsh criticism in recent years from
journalists, fans, and league insiders. In 1997 legendary NFL coach Don Shula made headlines when he
spoke out against skyrocketing player and coach salaries, squabbling owners, and free-agent player
bargaining practices that splintered team loyalties. 15 Indeed, the NFL had grown into a "big- time, big-
money" business; total NFL revenues by 2000 reached $4 billion, while the value of multi- year contracts
for leading players approached $100 million. Long-standing fans lamented the passing of a "golden age"
of "true competition," a time in the 1950s "when the NFL. had character": "Teams then had their own
personalities and each had an identifiable leader. They were not the plastic, look-alike teams who strive
today for parity (another name for mediocracy [sic]). "17 The costs of attending NFL games also
estranged people from the sport. With ticket prices rising four times faster than the Consumer Price
Index since 1991 the cost for a family of four to attend an NFL was 5243.34 in 2000), "attending sports
we perk These issues took their toll at rts went from affordable family the stad stadium, during the 1998
season, showed no growth of slight to significant slippage (the St. Louis Rams were off 16.8%) at the gate
to a corpora 16 of the 30 NFL team

Sports Spectatorship and The Fan Experience Among major spectator

t avid fan base (75 million) and the largest base of female fans (70 million with 23 million ave fans).
Comprising de avid fanfented, the larges oulder masculine, and more disposed toward beer. Casual fans
represented 37% of NFL spectators, whi or marginal, spor 35), male, middle class the remaining bilder
ever half the fans were above the ageugh profiles of NFL fans half of the a The age of the primarily to an
$10,000 and $75,000 per year) audience, though pulation as a wholes by educa race, age, and income
closely mirrored those of the American population as NFL agesander franchise was also trending
upward, as younger males turned increasingly alternative sports. 21

Research suggested that many fans of the NFL were fans of TV sports in general who simply foll Research
auferent sports throughout their respective seasons. Sports fans were characterized by
followndestments of time, money, and emotion into the domain; displayed superior knowledge of their
investmentsties, and strategies, developed emotional connections Fandom richer athletes and parfot
and showed a willingness to inject sports into conversations. Fandom in the NFL cohered particularly
around this set of unifying experiences, which was thought to be unavailable to casual or uninterested
observers. Folktales harbored gendered myths about the mildly dysfunctional but amusing football
fanatic in which the male "armchair quarterback," beer and remote in hand, wan consumed by the saga
of his team's fate while hus "football widow" waited in the wings.

Spectating, in the opinion of many, was a sport unto itself. Indeed, spectating, particularly for fast-paced
contact sports like NFL football, was more active and involved than the viewing associated with other
entertainment programming. 24 Viewers prepared for the game, were emotionally aroused and
communicative while watching, and typically stayed until the end. Unlike sit-coms, dramas, or

news shows, TV sports also inspired people to come together, further enhancing the activity dimension.
Spectating was big business, Americans spent more than 56 billion on spectator sports annually, with
attendance at college and professional games surpassing 200 million
Winning and losing were what spectator sports in general, and football spectating in particular, were all
about Fans reveled in the vicarious experience of competition offered through the game and enjoyed the
suspense and tension of each unscripted performance At the same time, pleasure in sport depended on
the repetition of rules that granted structure and predictability to the game and guaranteed a fair
resolution Sport thus offered a balanced interplay between certainty and uncertainty that was neither
predetermined by authorship and cultural conventions nor foreseeable through specialized knowledge.
"Anything could happen on a given Sunday," the saying went, and it was this uncertainty, the high
likelihood for loss, that gave sport viewership all its wondrous intensity. Taking sides and identifying with
a particular team or individual appeared fundamental to the emotional experience of watching sport,
even when no obvious affiliation offered itself." Highly identified fans were known to "bask in the
reflective glory of team wins while conveniently disassociating from failures. Spectator enjoyment
increased as roughness of play increased, especially for football.29

Sports viewership offered other pleasures beyond ego identification and the thrill of the drama,
including star gazing, the joy of spectacle, thrills of the body in jeopardy, sexuality/eroticism, and stress
stimulation that was enjoyable for some and relaxing for others. Social interaction motives concerning
both conversational utility (having something to talk with others about) and companionship (something
to do with family and friends) were also operative, as were motives involving cathartic release (letting off
steam, letting loose, having a beer) and education (learning from play and announcer commentary)
Others viewed sports merely as a filler that helped pass time when there was nothing else to do. The
motivational power of the various benefits and pleasures of sport spectatorship differed among
consumers, such that meaningful segments could be found.

The XFL Concept

At his February 3, 2000, press conference, McMahon announced the formation of an eight-team
professional football league whose 10-week regular season would debut after the Super Bowl in
February 2001. XFL games would be played in Washington, D.C., New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles,
Orlando, Miami, and two additional cities to be named later. Other details of the league such as player
salaries, roster sizes, and the date and process of the player draft remained to be determined and would
be made public in the months to come.

In introducing the XFL., McMahon positioned the league as a much-needed alternative to what he saw
as the effete and overly commercialized NFL. McMahon's goal was to "bring football back to its roots" by
providing "old-fashioned, smash-mouth football with cutting-edge marketing and es. As the XFL's Web
site affirmed, the league would offer "100% competitive production values." sport-the brand of football
that hard-core football fans haven't seen in a long time, and the brand of football that new fans have
never seen before. The league will connect with fans by returning football to its roots, including fostering
a wide-open style of play and faster-paced action while encouraging player individuality to emerge. "35
The WWFE's 2000 annual report reiterated this vision, describing the XFL as "a gutsy brand of gridiron
action and excitement that's long overdue" and noting that the league would "return the passion" to
football "with an action-packed, hard-hitting, smash-mouth product McMahon explained that the XFL
would recruit players from the NFL's golden age to serve as coaches and league officials in support of
this vision. Hall of Famer Dick Butkus, appointed the XFL's director of football competition, happily
promised that "[w]e're going to have people hitting people. In national television appearances,
McMahon presented the XFL's rule structure as a reprieve from what he regarded as the excessively
overregulated, rule-bound character of NFL play. "I believe the NFL today is too overregulated,
antiseptic," McMahon explained. "I mean, you can't make any gestures, you can't have your chin strap
unbuttoned, you can't have your shirt-tail out. It's so overregulated. The league's freedom from the taint
of wealthy owners and excessive player salaries was also emphasized. "You have no negotiations,"
remarked the head coach of one XFL team, "you have no owners who are going to disrupt the progress
of the league because it's centrally controlled. In other words, Donald Trump is not going to self-destruct
it [as he had done to an earlier competitor of the NFL., the USFL]. It's not going to be cannibalized."

But this was not all the XFL aspired to provide. As McMahon's references to "cutting-edge marketing and
production values" made clear, the league also intended to transform football broadcasting by creating a
"reality show inside arguably the greatest sport on television."40 The XFL would reengineer existing
broadcasting techniques by moving cameras and microphones into private, behind-the-scenes areas
such as team locker rooms, player huddles (via "helmet cams"), and sidelines. The XFL would encourage
aggressive, no-holds-barred color commentary from announcers, with broadcasts conveying an
irreverent tone. "Some have suggested the NFL is the 'No Fun League, McMahon explained. The XFL will
be the extremely fun league. This will be a blast. Overall, McMahon regarded the league as a "logical
brand extension of the WWF. At the same time, McMahon made it clear that the new league, unlike the
WWF, would not feature orchestrated and predetermined competition. "The WWF is 100%
entertainment," McMahon remarked at the inaugural news conference, "but the XFL is 100% sports. "43
McMahon's claim to provide legitimate sport received important support in January 2001, when Las
Vegas bookmakers began placing bets on XFL games.

Another organizing principle asserted at launch was the XFL's unique focus on the fan. McMahon
explained: "Everything I do, I look at as a fan what do we want, what would we like to see, what have we
not been privy to see." The XFL would be a people-oriented league-a far cry from the corporate and
image-conscious NFL. 45 Priced at $25, XFL tickets would be markedly less expensive than the NFL's,
granting more access to families and lower-income individuals. McMahon also pledged to make live
audiences an important element of the XFL's product offering. Sideline interviews and other
conversations would be broadcast over stadium loudspeakers, allowing the fans in attendance to
become part of the game. Cheerleader platforms and announcer booths would also be located directly in
the stands, a move that would not only provide fans a better experience but allow for a synergy between
fans and spectacle that viewers at home could enjoy.

In the wake of McMahon's inaugural news conference, industry watchers from across the country had a
field day registering their unique and largely negative-views on the prospects of the XFL. "1 think [the
XFL] can be successful, but I want to qualify that," remarked one Denver sports consultant. "If people
think this is going to be an NFL-type success they are badly mistaken."46 One former network sports
executive explained his gloomy prognosis: "My experience tells me there is insufficient demand for this
product, and the only chance I give it for success is the promotional skill of the WWF.... The marketplace
is saying these guys may throw a lot of money at this project that they'll never recover." According to
Atlanta consultant John Bevilaqua: "In spite of some of the successes of professional wrestling, they're
stepping into an arena that is really beyond their current expertise, and I think their chances are modest
at best. What they're doing is like Coca-Cola moving from soft drinks to alcoholic beverages. It's a
different league. "45 Sports and entertainment analyst Dean Bonham predicted unqualified failure,
predicting, "The XFL is going to get body-slammed despite its sterling credentials as a marketer. I don't
think this league has a chance. They lack three major elements: a strong financial base beyond the WWF,
a national broadcast partner, and a strong sponsor lineups. Without big backers, and we're talking
billionaire class, I'm afraid they're headed a gravestone in the cemetery of failed sport franchises. They'll
be dead in five years."

The Playmakers

McMahon had initially announced the WWFE's intention to develop the XFL on its own while contracting
out broadcast rights to independent networks and cable stations. "[W]e're not necessarily looking for
partners," he explained. "We don't play well with others. Shortly after the inaugur press conference.
Ebersol, chairman of NBC sports and a personal friend of McMahon's, asked McMahon jointly to contact
NBC before signing any broadcast deals. announced that NBC would take a 50% stake In late March,
McMahon and Ebersel e in the $100 million project and that NBC's parete company, General Electric,
would invest another $30 million in the WWFE. XFL games would be broadcast Saturday evenings on
NBC prior to the network's popular Saturday Night Live show, although the league would also be free to
sign deals for additional broadcasts with other parties WWFE stock promptly rebounded to 17/. This
would be the first time a new league had its games televised on a major broadcast network in prime
time.

WWFE

By 2000, McMahon's Connecticut-based WWFE was a $379 million multimedia company with a market
capitalization of over $1 billion The WWFE's core business was the production of approximately 200 live
wrestling events a year. From these events, the company generated nine hours of original television
programming a week for broadcast on cable and pay-per-view. In addition, the WWFE produced an array
of branded merchandise, including toys, video games, books, home videos, and apparel, that accounted
for almost $1 billion in sales at large retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target. The WWFE's other businesses
included WWF New York, a large entertainment complex in Times Square, wrestling magazines such as
RAW and World Wrestling Federation, and the record label SmackDown Records. As founder and
chairman of the company, McMahon owned 78% of its total shares and 97% of the voting shares.
To many, professional wrestling was unique among professional sports. Wrestling was entirely scripted or
staged, with outcomes known by designers in advance. As in theater, wrestlers took on character roles,
each cast clearly as a hero or a villain. Acting, rather than winning, was their primary emphasis; a
wrestler won the match only if winning was written into the script. Wrestlers were very much aware that
they were performing to an audience and thus staged their actions so that everyone could see them.
Throws were often repeated several times, for instance, to give all audience members equal opportunity
to see the action; villains executing their evil deeds had to turn completely around so that the entire
audience was kept apprised of the plot. Still, industry insiders cringed at critics' charges that wrestling
performances were fake, since the concept of fake was irrelevant to theater Additionally, just as in
traditional sport, wrestling rivalries were waged according to shared rules and by skilled and talented
athletes.

The character of the wrestling fan was also distinctive. Spectators of professional wrestling were
especially visible and empowered; performances catered directly to fans, with each contest structured
around their active participation in the spectacle.51 Fans acted in ways consistent with the cartoon
nature of the matches, screaming, spitting, throwing M&Ms, and diving for used gum. Wrestling matches
had a carnival atmosphere, where excessiveness, offensiveness, and degradation, particularly with
respect to the body, stood in playful opposition the norms and mores of the dominant culture In the
end, however, the wrestling match was meant to portray a purely moral concept-that of justice-where
good ultimately conquered evil

McMahon, a personality now synonymous with professional wrestling, got his start in 1971 working for
his father's small, regional events-promotion company, Capitol Wrestling Corporation. In 1980 McMahon
founded his own wrestling company, Titan Sports, and two years later purchased hus father's business.
During the mid-to-late 1980s, the younger. McMahon's WWF gradually shook up the modest industry by
spotlighting celebrity wrestlers such as Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant, pursuing national television
contracts, and acknowledging openly that professional wresting matches were fixed. Through this
innovative strategy, McMahon managed to outfox his father's former competitors and attract
mainstream audiences. In 1987 the third edition of the WWF's annual extravaganza, Wrestlemania,
attracted a record 93,173 fans at the Pontiac, Michigan, Silverdome. The WWF also made a splash on
network television, airing Saturday Night's Mam Event, a series of weekend specials, on NBC from 1985
to 1991, with similar shows appearing on Fox. By the mid- 1990s, however, the WWF was in deep
trouble, losing market share and profits to Ted Turner's rival World Championship Wrestling (WCW),
which was supported on cable. McMahon responded by reducing the wrestling in his shows and
increasing the spectacle. Porn stars and celebrities now appeared regularly on the mat, acting out
dramatic story lines conceived by McMahon and his team. The WWF transformed itself into a powerful
producer of celebrity character-athletes such as The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. The result, as one
writer has described it, was "a weird brew of soap opera, live cartoon, theater of the absurd, even
modern day morality play. "57 By its own account, the WWF had created a new hybrid, "sports
entertainment," an "action-adventure soap opera" that combined "thrilling athleticism with exciting
storylines and dynamic characters."58
Whatever it was, the WWF was soon back on track, overtaking the WCW by mid-1998 and going on to a
successful IPO in 1999 under a new name, World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. In 2000 the
WWFE's flagship program, Raw is War, enjoyed the highest ratings of any regularly scheduled cable
television program, while another show, WWF SmackDown!, was the most watched program on the UPN
television network. WWFE shows were also highly popular on pay-per-view, with total buys increasing
from 2.9 million in 1998 to 68 million in 2000 Fans thronged to the WWFE's live events. An April 2000
show in California sold out in 11 minutes, and a King of the Ring event in Boston sold out in a record 41/:
minutes. As became widely known, the WWF's live and television audiences were chiefly comprised of
young males 12 to 34 (the average age of SmackDown viewers was 23). In 2000 this coveted audience
generated advertising revenues of $78 million b the WWFE.

Throughout its history, the WWF and its outspoken founder had aroused controversy and provoked
negative commentary in the mass media. Even as the WWFE moved into the mainstream conservative
critics continued to lambast McMahon for "selling violence, homophobia, misogyny twisted sex, negative
ethnic stereotyping, and senseless hate to American children." McMahon responded to such criticism by
turning it to his own purposes Public outcry was written inta wrestling spectacle in the form of an
imaginary group of villains called "Right to Censor" (the group was promptly booed by the crowd and
then beaten by a brawny wrestler) 61 McMahon himself rele on public controversy as a backdrop against
which to craft his own image as a flamboyant, boisterou maverick-a new version of the countercultural
character pioneered by rock musicians a generation before. "May I never, ever be thought of as legit,
anything but that. I'm never going to go legitimate in terms of the perception of me personally, or sell
out, as the case may be," he was quoted a saying. If McMahon reveled in his brazen, outsider status,
however, he took care to polish his reputation and credentials in the arena of business. He said,

I'm a bit of a renegade, but a damn good businessman. There is and has been a stereotypical image of
wrestling that was created by my predecessors, of Damon Runyonesque, cigar- chomping characters
running around in smoke-filled rooms. We're still dealing with a little bit of that stigma that we brought
on ourselves. But it's starting to become more mainstream now, and some [television] executives are
starting to understand populist television. The advertisers also see what a great platform wrestling is for
their products. 64

NBC

In 2000 NBC had revenues of $6.7 billion, accounting for 5% of General Electric's total sales. One of the
nation's four major TV networks, NBC had approximately 230 affiliate stations, 13 of them company
owned. In addition, the company operated cable stations MSNBC and CNBC and retained ownership
interests in a number of media properties, including cable channels, The History Channel and American
Movie Classics and Internet sites NBCı and iVillage. Overall, NBC broadcast 5,000 hours of programming
per year, reaching 99% of American homes. Prominent divisions included NBC Entertainment, which
produced hit shows including ER, Law & Order, and The West Wing; NBC News, whose industry-leading
broadcasts included Nightly News with Tom Brokaw and The Today Show, and NBC Sports, home of the
Olympic games through 2008, the NBA, the Professional Golf Association (PGA), the Wimbledon tennis
tournament, and other important sports events. NBC's prime-time audience was described as "urban,
well-to-do, and highly educated," even "the richest smartest and most savvy viewers of all." The median
household income of NBC's prime-time viewers was $60,000, and the network led the industry in
attracting viewers with incomes over $75,000

As longtime chairman of NBC Sports, Ebersol influential at the network and considered one of the most
powerful figures in network sports broadcasting Ebersol had helped introduce Saturday Night Live to
NBC and had also helped McMahon produce his Saturday Night's Main Event wrestling program. After
taking the reins at NBC Sports in 1989, Ebersol turned around the formerly declining division by bringing
professional sports and the Olympics to the network. More recently, though, Ebersol had suffered
setbacks, losing the rights to MLB and NFL football in vicious bidding wars with other networks NBA
ratings also declining, and ratings of the 2000 Sydney Olympics were down 36% from the 1996 Atlanta
games. The network's audience had been steadily aging as well, which raised doubts about long-term
potential. In this context, ownership of the XFL obviously attracted Ebersol.6 XFL games could also
potentially invigorate NBC's Saturday night lineup, which averaged only 8.5 million viewers and cost
almost $3 million a week to produce. "Saturday night viewing needs a kick start," Ebersol exclaimed,
"and somebody who has the production and marketing skills of Vince McMahon is a great person for us
to bet on " The XFL could also provide NBC with its first source of reality programming, a genre the
network had previously felt would neither appeal to its traditional upscale audience nor build on its
strengths in sit-com and dramatic production.70

Despite Ebersol's contention that the XFL would profit by year three, NBC's decision to back the WWFE
was not warmly received by many industry observers "I don't understand [NBC's] strategy," exclaimed
one network executive. "It just does not fit with their branding strategy, unless they think they're going
to get upscale men watching this thing."72 Ebersol and other NBC Sports executives were unbowed. As
NBC Sports President Ken Schanzer remarked: "We've got the NBC platform that appeals to a certain
audience and the WWF platform that appeals to a different audience, each of whom we think will like
the product that is put in front of them Ebersol, meanwhile, reassured the public as to the propriety of
XFL broadcasting, remarking that "[t]he XFL won't be your mother's football league, [but] I have not seen
anything I'd classify as vulgar." The Pre-Launch Marketing Playbook

XFL. training camps were slated to open in January 2001, and the first XFL game was planned for
February 3. In the year before this official launch, McMahon and Ebersol sought to build publ awareness
and enthusiasm for the new league while also resolving a variety of operational and product design
issues. They turned increasingly to two key promotional vehicles in their brand. building task (1) the
announcement and justification of product decisions, and (2) the arring of extensive pre-launch
advertising
Specification of the league's rules proved critical in helping consumers and the press understand the XFL
brand concept. In March 2000 the XFL announced a spate of new rules designed to speed up and
intensify play, including a shortened halftime intermission, less time between plays, and allowance of
more aggressive defensive tactics. Another set of rules designed to maximize on-field contact was issued
in January 2001. These rules included (1) no point-after-touchdown kicks (the NFL allowed teams to kick
an extra point following a touchdown, which involved little physical action); (2) making punts traveling 25
yards or more live balls (in college football and the NFL, if a team could not move the ball 10 yards in
three downs, it kicked, or punted, the ball downfield on (3) fourth down to the opposing team, the other
team's receiver could call a fair catch if he did not think he could safely run the ball back, thus avoiding
physical contact with the kicking team's tacklers); a provision that receivers and defenders only needed
one foot in bounds for a reception (the NFL required two feet inbounds, a rule which arguably reduced
the number of spectacular receptions in a game); (4) a ban on quarterback slides (in the NFL,
quarterbacks typically slid to the ground to avoid hits from the opposing team); and (5) a provision that
kickoffs needed to be run out of the end zone (After scoring a touchdown or a field goal, teams kicked
the ball downfield to the opposing team. In and the NFL, kickoffs deep in college and the end zone were
regarded as dead and the ball was placed on the receiving team's 20-yard line. This rule arguably
prevented injuries, since the hang time on many kicks allowed tacklers ample time to proceed
downfield.)

As the XFI. media guide explained: "The XFL has not invented any new rules but has incorporated certain
rules from other professional and collegiate leagues, past and present, to create a fast-paced, high-
excitement brand of football "74 Nonetheless, the rule changes authorized by the XFL were widely
dissected by experts on talk shows and in published opinion pieces. Fans, too, became involved. A
CNNsi.com poll asked fans which rule they liked the most. A total of 17% responded "ne extra points,"
38% "no fair catch," 24% "no QB grasp rule," and 21% "kick-offs must be run back." Announcements of
the league's evolving broadcast arrangements also helped clarify the XFL concept In May 2000 UPN
signed a contract to broadcast the XFI.'s Sunday evening games, with the network's president citing the
need for "somebody to stand up for the high-testosterone young male.75 In November TNN became the
exclusive cable provider for XFL Sunday afternoon games. Diana Robina, general manager for TNN,
commented: "XFL will be a total fan experience, with the highest production values and innovations,
intense team action, and rivalries.7% In January the broadcast picture was completed as MSNBC com
signed on to provide Internet coverage of the XFL

Throughout the pre-launch period, various operational details concerning the XFL were also illuminated.
In July the XFL announced that players would "be paid to play, but paid more to win,"7" with base
salaries averaging about $50,000 per player and team members sharing a pool of 100,000 per regular
season game won This announcement was followed in August with the launch of the official XFL football
"black with red curves that might remind some of seams in a baseball"-produced by licensee Spalding
Sports Worldwide. "This couldn't be a brown football," remarked one Spalding executive "This football
needed point of view "79 Later that month consumers got a glimpse of the XFL's lineup of smash-mouth
team names and colors, chosen using focus groups of 13- to 16-year-old boys. "We agreed," remarked
Butkus, "that we're not going to have any animals and nothing that flies. 30 The results which included
the New York/New Jersey Hitmen, the Orlando Rage, and the Memphis Maniax-drew substantial
attention, not all of it positive, from the national sports media As one reporter exclaimed: "You were
expecting names like Cardinals, Dolphins, and Patriots? C'mon! This is the XFL, where the X stands for in-
your-face, gut- ripping, butt-kicking attitude.... So when the brainchild of professional wrestling czar
Vince McMahon unveiled the names and logos its eight teams will wear when the season begins in
February, little was held back." XFL President Basil DeVito, Jr., affirmed as much, explaining: "We needed
to create names and team identities that truly represent what the XFL is all about."83

Personnel announcements provided yet another opportunity for XFL organizers to reinforce for
consumers what the XFL was all about. In August 2000 three-time NFL All-Pro Drew Pearson was named
vice-president and general manager of the New York/New Jersey Hitmen. Pearson commented: "One of
the first things I did before I got involved was have Vince make clear to me that the quality of play would
be the priority. I wanted to make sure this was going to be a real thing. I have no doubts now. Vince is a
football purist." This message of McMahon as a "football purist" was projected again in October, when
the XFL held its official player selection draft. Fourteen ex-NFL players were drafted in the first round,
including veterans such as John Avery, Jim Druckenmiller, and Vaughn Dunbar. 85 Although several
journalists criticized the XFL for recruiting "has-beens," the league presented its players as the kind of
dedicated and experienced athletes fans wanted to see. "We don't need to spend huge sums of money
chasing Heisman Trophy winners," McMahon added. "We'll create our own stars." In November the XFL
made headlines again when it announced the signing of outspoken Minnesota Governor and former
wrestler Jesse "The Body" Ventura to staff the XFL's TV booth. As McMahon noted, Ventura was
"naturally opinionated, charismatic, and genuine-just like the XFL will be. From day one, we've promised
that the XFL will allow the true personality of the game to shine." In introducing Ventura, who recently
had raised a firestorm of controversy for calling religion "a sham" and advocating the legalization of
prostitution, McMahon was. don't you've ever heard found a perfect opportunity to preview the XFL's
brash, in-your-face think you were Ventus with a going to say, disagree with a play chese this very honest
approach. I would suggest that the way we're going to cover this is What a stupid call that was. going to
revolutionize not only how football is being covered, but in all likelihood, sport itself. Some viewed the
announcement of Ventura's appointment as strategic, but in a different way "The XFL is months away
from playing its first game and already it is the talk of, well some towns. The revelation that Gov. Jesse
Ventura will handle the NBC color commentary proviós a further talking point-which is the whole point
of the exercise."

Details about the XFL cheerleaders also generated significant press coverage in the pre-launch months.
In July 2000 McMahon announced that the XFL would provide "the best-looking cheerleaders ever
assembled." Moreover, the XFL would go beyond existing football broadcasting by providing access to
the personal lives of these young women. "You're going to get to know these ladies," McMahon vowed.
"Their names, their personalities. You might even get to know them as far as some of the relationships
they may or may not have with certain players." In November 2000 McMahon further differentiated the
XFL by critiquing the NFL's current ban on player-cheerleader relationships. "The NFL prohibition on
dating is the most absurd rule of all," he opined. "It's just un American. Yes, our cheerleaders will date
our players. Yes, they'll be hot babes." In characteristic style, McMahon provided reporters with vivid
details of his plan to incorporate cheerleader sexuality into XFL broadcasts: "We're going to have three or
four [cheerleaders) surround our announcers who'll be sitting in the stands by the way. Then, when the
quarterback fumbles or the wide receiver drops a pass-and we know who he's dating-I want our
reporters right back in her face on the sidelines, demanding to know whether the two of them did the
wild thing last night."91

Several waves of television advertising broadcast on NBC and developed by NBC's in-house agency were
also included in the pre-launch marketing plan (see Exhibit 1 for a historical sampling of advertising).
Three 20-second commercials aired in July 2000, another three aired toward the end of September, and
five spots of varying length kept the momentum going during the mid-to-late fall The greatest barrage of
advertising came in January 2001 as the XFL unleashed an all-out media blitz in advance of opening day.
Between January 13 and 27, at least 14 different spots were unveiled to NBC audiences, ranging in
length from 15 seconds to 3½ minutes. The ads employed provocative language, loud music, fearsome
voice-overs, and shocking images to convey many of McMahon's most notorious and oft-repeated
messages. Countering media criticism of the ads, McMahon explained his creative approach: "Let's face
it, a lot of what we're doing now is creating controversy-that's what we do! He-llooo! That's
entertainment!" with the Question: Sports, or Entertainment?" and "Can XFL Balance Flash with
Football? Sports, McMahon and Ebersol in particular were portrayed as cynical and immoral
businessmen out for a quick buck "[Flor them," one critic observed, "it's about ratings, money and
attracting pimple-faced teenagers with a product most parents and teachers would prefer simply went
away. As one journalist exclaimed, "NBC should be mortified. They should be embarrassed to be talking
up the 'reality TV' angle of the XFL, as if it is a great step forward in television sports. Still, in October
2000, only nine months after the league's official introduction, XFL.com attracted 377,000 unique
visitors, only 93,000 behind NHL.com. By November 65,000 fans had registered on the site, where they
could purchase season tickets, attend team events such as unuform unveilings, and hear late- breaking
league news. In December XFL.com drew 342,000 unique visitors, only 2,000 less than MLB's well-
established site. In January, as the XFL training camps officially started, league-wide sales of 65,000
season tickets were reported, with Chicago at 5,000 tickets, San Francisco and New York at 18,000 each,
Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Memphis at 6,000, and Orlando at 7,000 The league's average-attendance
goal was set at 25,000 fans per game. According to XFL research, over two-thirds of the American
population had heard of the XFL on the eve of its February 2001 debut." Over $12 million in
merchandising revenue had been realized by this date.

Where audiences went, advertisers were not far behind. With two months to go before kickoff of the
inaugural season, 50% of the XFL ad time for game telecasts had already been sold. Sponsors included
AT&T, Anheuser-Busch, P&G, Miramax, Best Buy, Burger King, the US. Air Force, and the Milk Board,
among others. Advertiser packages included three 30-second spots sold for $145,000 each. 10 By early
January, when XFL training camps formally opened, 70% of the league's advertising inventory for the
season was sold, with the league guaranteeing a 10 Nielsen rating from NBC, UPN, and TNN combined.
NBC alone promised a 4.5 rating the equivalent of approximately 6 million viewers 101 Meanwhile, the
NFL had already begun a counteroffensive, incorporating a series of tactics designed to make its league
more attractive. Comedian Dennis Miller had taken a new post as announcer for ABC television's
longtime Monday Night Football broadcast. In addition, the league had approved use in selected games
of the "Umpcam," a tiny camera affixed to the brim of the umpire's cap to give an in-your-face view of
the line of scrimmage 102 On the eve of the big game, key players in the media were jockeying for their
final positions in predicting the future of the league The optimism of some observers nourished a feeling
of suspense. Business Week proclaimed that "this league has more than a fighting chance,"103 while
business-of-sports expert Stephen A. Greyser concluded that "I will be right on a platter for them.
Competition plus entertainment. If condosation rings people's chines, the chances are good

Select Plays from the XFL Highlight Reel

Week One On opening weekend, the Las Vegas Outlaws beat the New York/New Jersey Hitmen, 19-0
(with a scoreless second half). The broadcast of the Outlaws/Hitmen game received 10.1 overnight
Nielsen rating, leading McMahon to declare the league a rousing success. O satisfied fan on the XFL.
Discussion Board summed it up: "Who can set the stage better than McMahon? It's packaged with
McMahon TLC and it shows. It's got flair. From the pyro to the overall feel I think the XFL, wally shined."
Three additional games were held opening weekend The Orlando Raber keat the Chicago Enforcers, 13-
29, in Florida before a sellout crowd of 36,503. The Memphis Maniax beat the Birmingham
Thunderbolts, 22-20, before another sellout crowd, of 35,000 The San Francisco Demons beat the Los
Angeles Xtreme, 15-13. This game was announced as a sellout although blocks of empty seats were
visible. At the opening to the Outlaws/Hitmen game wrestling star The Rock appeared onscreen their
jerseys to welcome fans to the XFL. Players wore nicknames on These included the much-remarked
moniker "He Hate Me" worn by Rod Smart of the Las Vegas Outlaws. One journalist described the Las
Vegas-New York/New Jersey game as follows "Among the things that did happen were a blast of a pre-
game fireworks show, the unleashing of a sound system to rival the loudest in the National Basketball
Association, the miking of just about everyone on or around the field for the supposed benefit of
television, and some serious booty shaking by the black-booted Outlaw cheerleaders, who'd received a
higher billing than the football players on the team's marquee "10% McMahon's assessment: "I don't
think there's ever enough sex. [ thought that there was the right complement of sexuality and a right
complement of confrontation and the right complement of real good, hard-hitting football. I think that
the viewer experienced the game." During the XFL's first broadcast, announcer Matt Vasgersian
remained silent for 15 seconds after cameras focused on scantily clad cheerleaders, finally muttering, "1
feel uncomfortable... Man alive.... All righty then... Those suits are something else." Vergasian was
replaced the following week by a wrestling announcer.

Week Two The XFL game between the Los Angeles Xtreme and the Chicago Enforcers went into double
overtime, delaying the start of Saturday Night Live by 45 minutes. During the broadcast The Rock told
NFL executives to take their suitcases, "turn them sideways and stick them straight up your candy ass.
"10 NBC ratings fell to 3.8. The Orlando Rage vs. San Francisco Demons game was played before only
25,000 fans, down 11,000 from the week before. A crowd of 36,500 turned out to watch the
Birmingham-New York/New Jersey game, although only 5,000 were left by the end of the game.
Journalists reported that the competition was marred by sloppy play and 6º temperatures. In Las Vegas,
television viewership of Outlaw games was 329% higher than the national rating. 110 Commenting on
XFL play, one NFL player remarked. "After all the hype. I expected some crazy, futuristic, Rollerball-type
stuff, but it turned out to be regular football-and not very good football At least when the USFL came
out, they had some guys in their prime. Not to disrespect these guys, but their better days are behind
them "11) Ebersol noted, "This is the first league that has tried to succeed without signing star players.
It's a production-driven league. This has never been done. "112

Week Three XFL overtime rules were changed to ensure that games ended on time, NBC executives also
worked to cut down on pregame introductions and halftime programs. 113 In none of the four weekly
games did any team score above 18 points. During the Los Angeles-Las Vegas game, Ventura responded
to a play with the remark: "Defense versus offense You've got to love it" 114 The New York Post reported
one fan angrily asked for a season ticket refund after he and his children were surrounded by rowdy fans
at an XFL game "The non-stop verbal barrage, which included raunchy, descriptive suggestions of what
fans would like to do to the barely dressed women, and pleas for the women to lose their skimpy
costumes, turned the game into something resembling the seediest strip club."115 NBC ratings fell to 2.9
Honda dropped out as an advertiser, while Burger King indicated its apprehension. Ebersol remained
confident of the XFL's prospects: "Week in and week out, it's pretty successful. "116 The XFL improved
UPN's Sunday night ratings, leading one executive there to remark. "We like it a lot. It's certainly been
better than anything else we've been able to put in the time period. It's salabie, marketable, and very
much on the target demo of a UPN station." 117 At TNN, ratings of 1.2 were double what they had been
in that time slot before the XFL..

Week Four A total of 14,850 attended the New York/New Jersey-Chicago game at Soldier Field Angered
by a coaching decision, announcer Ventura called New York/New Jersey Hitmen coach Rusty Tillman
"gutless," taunting Tillman after the coach refused him a post-game interview. 118 XFL producers played
up the feud as a "subplot." Tillman retorted: "I'm a football coach I'm not going to embarrass my friends
and my family. I don't like this WWF stuff. I think their TV announcers are awful. Jesse is terrible....
People would be better off tuning out the sound and listening to the radio "119 NBC ratings were down
to 2.4. UPN's four-week rating average was 19, roughly the same as TNN's. Commentators complained of
boring performances on the field: "On second thought, maybe the XFL should have scripted the action
on the field. At least, we wouldn't have been subjected to the slew of yawners that dominated the first
month of the new football league. McMahon and Ebersol promised the XFL would be an alternative to
the NFL. We just didn't know they meant an alternative to entertaining football. "120 Meanwhile, NBC
president Bob Wright defended the decision to back the XFL: "The XFL is a unique property and thisk
opportunity This season's start-up costs represent less money than we would under the current
contract" Las Vegas emerged a leading XFL as a of 28,262 in the first two games and television
viewership the highest in the league. director of a local station explained: "Vegas buying into that
portray. People here are buyi the n City, and that's the image the league is trying to is Sin It doesn't hurt
that the Outlaws have one of the best teams league, but I don't think what you're seeing here is a fluke.
People have really been waiting for something like this. "
Week Five With NBC ratings holding at 2.4, McMahon emphasized the importance of gradual brand
building: "Let's face it, even though y way, you correct those n lot of you have many advantages, you
make mistakes along the s of brand building. This is brand building, anda mistakes, you focus in It took
me seven years to build the WWF. How many years to terms people do not understand this. build
soccer? I think once the [NBC] affiliates understand that this is brand building, we will be okay. I think we
in it for the long run with NBC, and they have given me every indication that is are in the case 123
McMahon also acknowledged that the caliber of play had left something to be desired and that he had
unfairly criticized NFL owners. At the same time, he maintained that the media had dealt with him and
the league unfairly and asked the media to take into account the level of play the league had managed to
achieve by the middle of the season, as athletes learned to play together as a team. Vasgersian returned
as lead play-by-play announcer, taking back his seat from WWF wrestling announcer Jim Ross. NBC
announced plans to take cameras into cheerleaders' locker rooms during games broadcast the following
weekend. 125 Attracted by XFL advertising packages at a 40% discount and free commercial giveaways,
Buena Vista Motion Pictures and Activision signed on as sponsors. The vice president of the Los Angeles
Xtreme noted that "locally, TV ratings are fine The day Stanford-UCLA played, we got a 3.5 and that game
got a 2.7 "127

Week Six NBC ratings slipped to 1.6, the lowest in history for a prime-time sports program The game
ranked 107 on the ratings chart. TNN's season average for an XFL game was 0.9.12 McMahon
acknowledged mistakes, including poor announcer choices and ineffective crowd control "We've done
our research, we've listened to our audience, we've listened to the media, we've learned what appeals
to WWF fans and what appeals to football fans, and we've made changes" Media criticism continued
unabated, with one observer remarking of the XFL: "It is what it is, inferior football. And that's what
McMahon is asking people to watch right after they've seen really good football, NFL, football. "129

Weeks Seven, Eight, and Nine While NBC ratings rebounded to 1.8 in week seven, NBC quietly probed
Hollywood producers about the possibility of developing a low-cost drama for the Saturday night slot
Meanwhile, Butkus remained optimistic about the league's prospects for the following year, saying: "I
think there is going to going to be a resurgence, once people see what this league is really all about. It's
about football, and the quality continues to improve with each week. Some mistakes have been made,
no doubt about that. But I have faith in Vince McMahon "130 In week eight, NBC's airing of the Chicago-
New York/New Jersey game set a new ratings low of 1.5. In week nine, NBC ratings remained at 1.5 The
XFL announced its April 21 championship game would be called the "Million Dollar Game," with a $1
million pot to be allocated to members of the winning team. The league kicked off a local and national
advertising campaign that included "tune in to XFL" ads on NBC, UPN, and TNN and during MLB
telecasts, print advertising in the The New York Times and USA Today as well as two dozen other
newspapers; and radio ads in the top-20 U.S. markets A Million Dollar Game logo was hung outside WWF
New York, while Million Dollar Game merchandise was set to go on sale during game week.

Weeks Eleven and Twelve NBC ratings rose slightly to 18 in week eleven. Playoff competition
commenced, with San Francisco and Los Angeles advancing to the Million Dollar Game. McMahon stated
that, while he did not think NBC would broadcast another season of XFL games, he nonetheless looked
forward to year two: "The way I look at it, next year will be our first year of business. We made mistakes,
and we have learned from our mistakes. Next season will be the real test. "131 At the Million Dollar
Game (week twelve), the Los Angeles Xtreme beat the San Francisco Demons 38-6 before 24,153 fans.
Xtreme coach Al Luginbill remarked: "I don't think if we went out and wrote a script, we could have
played better. It was a dominating effort. "132 The game managed a 2.5 rating, with viewers tuning out
progressively over the course of the game. An XFL season average rating of 3.3 on NBC was reported
(representing approximately 7.5 million viewers per week), while total league attendance was pegged at
about one million, or 23,000 per game In XFL team markets, television ratings were 74% higher than the
national ratings average. For the male 18-49 audience, the XFL's TNN package received ratings 9% higher
than those of the NBA on TNN, 82% higher than the NHL on ESPN, and 92% higher than the NCAA men's
basketball tournament on ESPN. Advertisers reported that they were generally happy with the league
and planned to return for a second year. The U.S. Army, for instance, noted that its Web site traffic
tripled during XFL contests.133

Epilogue On May 10, McMahon and Ebersol officially announced the closure of the XFL.. Ebersol
revealed that NBC "knew it wasn't going to work from early March on."134 Calling the XFL the "most
successfully marketed and promoted new league in the history of sports," one sports commentator
predicted: "The XFL will undoubtedly become a Harvard Business School case study on the dos and
don'ts of starting a sports league. My guess is that the students will find plenty of both. For that reason
alone, there's justification for offering a respectful 'rest in peace' when walking through the cemetery of
failed sports leagues. "