The XFL may have to resort to some down and dirty tactics if it wants to stay above water, ad industry execs said yesterday.
But hitting too far below the belt – which may help boost its sagging ratings – could result in an advertising backlash, industry execs remarked.
With national television ratings for NBC’s third broadcast of the XFL down 33 percent from the previous week and with a major advertiser backing out due to problems with the content of the show, WWF and XFL chief Vince McMahon may opt to up the sex and violence portions of the show to grab a bigger audience.
“The question is, what will they do if ratings continue to slide,” said one media buyer. “They might opt to jazz it up. To spice it up with sleazy tactics,” he said.
And if McMahon, who last year said “sexuality is part of our culture,” encourages the XFL players and its squad of bodacious cheerleaders to “loosen up,” advertisers who are already nervous may run for an exit.
Honda already said it was backing out of the show because the programming was not what it had in mind. They had expected football, a Honda rep said, but instead got the WWF.
Burger King, another XFL advertiser, said yesterday that while it intends to continue to advertise, it will watch the show very carefully. Ad execs said the fast-food chain may have second thoughts if the content heated up.
But while Honda blamed its exit on programming concerns, the XFL’s ratings continue to raise some eyebrows.
NBC’s Saturday night broadcast of the Los Angeles Xtreme’s 12-9 win over the Las Vegas Outlaws attracted only a 3.8 rating – below the 4.5 rating the XFL promised advertisers.
Some ad execs point to the holiday weekend as one possible reason for the decline, but say that if ratings continue to slide, the XFL could be in trouble.
The XFL bases its averages on a cumulative rating for all 10 regular-season games, playoffs and championships.
“If the rating falls below the promised level, they will have to [give] make goods,” said WWF analyst Breck Wheeler of Legg Mason Wood Walker. “We have been concerned that the XFL is not working as WWF would have liked.”
Still, Wheeler pointed out, the WWF has more than $250 million in cash flow on its balance sheet. “They’re not hurting for funds,” she said.
Dennis McAlpine, an analyst at Auerbach, Pollak & Richardson, said he had expected the league to lose about $80 million, half of which would be picked up by partner NBC. He said yesterday that the WWF may now lose more.
Jeff Shapes, an XFL spokesman, said yesterday the current average after three weeks is 5.8 – well above the projected 4.5.
As for the possibility of the fledgling football league spicing up its programming, Shapes said the company won’t comment on content.
“We’re always reviewing our product with the aim of putting out the most entertaining show,” Shapes noted.