NBC may feel XFL's hit in its pocketbook

The Badger Herald

University of Wisconsin

I watched the XFL last weekend and was pleasantly surprised. I liked it, at least mostly.

I thought the camera angles were innovative and the production quality was unexpectedly high. The players, though generally untalented, were driven, and you could tell they really cared about the game.

There was no obvious scripting, as I had feared, and the gratuitous camera shots of second-rate cheerleaders were kept to a minimum. But last weekend was only the beginning, and I can only imagine that things will get worse.

The positive qualities of the XFL are not inspired by Vince McMahon and his clan of loud wrestlers. Indeed, they are the work of NBC, the oldest and most reputable network in the land.

NBC has taken a huge gamble in pairing up with the XFL, and while the suits at the network may be smiling and smoking cigars now, they are likely to be missing advertising dollars in the near future.

Yes, the XFL attracted double the viewership that NBC had promised, but there is a good chance that figure will plummet.

ESPN.com conducted a poll in which 50 percent of some 60,000 respondents said that, after having seen the XFL once, they would not watch it again.

Further, a league in its first few seasons has to develop a fan base, and while a professional sports team is sure to draw crowds in Birmingham and Memphis, the people of Los Angeles and San Francisco are likely to scorn their XFL franchises.

And when viewership drops, NBC will realize that it has made a deal with the devil. If ratings slip, NBC, which appears to have had most of the production control thus far, will probably look to McMahon for pointers. McMahon, after all, did turn professional wrestling into a multi-million dollar industry. And that means more scripting, more trash talking, and, yes, more gratuitous shots of second-rate cheerleaders for the XFL.

The cheerleader issue is where NBC stands to get in real trouble. Though there was not as much floozy camera time as expected, the up-close shots of the Las Vegas Hitmen cheerleaders were more than enough to unsettle the masses. Even XFL commentator Matt Vasgersian voiced his disapproval.

"I feel uncomfortable," he said as the camera zoomed in for an X-treme close up of the jiggling posterior of a Hitwoman.

The attire of the XFL cheerleaders makes the outfits of the NFL cheerleaders look like winter coats. And, though I know this is an understatement, few of the XFL girls project a wholesome image that families can embrace.

The cleavage (no pun intended) between football and sex in the XFL is going to scare away advertising dollars that NBC should be raking in on a Saturday evening. While it will certainly attract the viewers that NBC wants, few respectable companies are going to want to have their products associated with the XFL. And considering the price of a commercial during Saturday night prime time, advertisers are just not going to take the risk.

"Saturday night needs a real rejuvenation," said NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol in defense of his XFL partnership.

How about a "Saturday Night Live" that airs from 7:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.?