So how does NBC's new alliance with Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation -- whose programming attracts a somewhat different audience -- to create the Extreme Football League make sense?

Good question, say skeptics, including some advertisers and even a sampling of NBC's own affiliates, which are wondering about the same issue.

"I don't quite understand the strategy," says Anthony Vinciquerra, executive vice-president and chief operating officer of Hearst-Argyle Television, which owns 10 NBC affiliates. "It just does not fit with their branding strategy, unless they think they're going to get upscale men watching this thing."

There's no doubt about the ability of McMahon, chairman of the WWF's parent, Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment, to fill seats with TV viewers. WWF's wrestling show "Smackdown!" averages 7.2 million viewers per episode on Viacom's UPN and has done much to boost the still-struggling network.

And General Electric's NBC certainly could use some new blood, especially younger men, among its audience. The average age of an NBC viewer is now 45, a rise of almost three years in just over a year, according to Nielsen Media Research. Its male audience among men under 50 has fallen by almost 15 per cent.

With games to begin airing on Saturday nights in February, the XFL promises more violence, more theatrics and fewer rules than the National Football League, which is no longer carried on NBC. At least initially, NBC is banking on McMahon's bringing his legions of wrestling followers to the network and the new football league.

But the audience for "Smackdown!" and other WWF shows is nothing like NBC's, in terms of the buying power that attracts Madison Avenue. The median age of a "Smackdown!" viewer, according to a TN Media study, is 23, with a median income of $30,000 -- younger and less affluent than the viewers of popular NBC shows such as "Friends," "The West Wing" and "Law & Order."

Different StrokesNBC and WWF have very different audience profiles. Below, a comparison of the WWF's primetime hit, Smackdown!, with the average NBC primetime show.

Networks usually like to gear the bulk of their programming to a certain audience. Time Warner's WB network, for example, focuses much of its efforts on attracting teenage girls and young women. Bigger networks try to have a broader reach but still specialise somewhat. In NBC's case, the network usually seeks out urban, well-to-do, highly educated viewers with its sophisticated comedies and dramas.

But NBC and XFL officials say they don't see the differences between a typical NBC viewer and a follower of McMahon as a problem, but more of an opportunity.

"When the teams step on the field and play and it becomes obvious that the football is real, the juncture of these two audiences will be terrific," says NBC Sports President Ken Schanzer.

"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," he says.

Some regular advertisers on sports programming aren't so sure, wondering about the new league's ability to appeal to top brands for one thing. "I don't think this will attract the traditional NFL advertiser," says Larry Novenstern, senior vice-president and director of sports marketing at Omnicom Group's BBDO. Advertisers such as Coca-Cola and AT&T have made a public point of steering clear of "Smackdown!" because of its violent content.

NBC and the WWF stress that the XFL isn't wrestling and won't be scripted or staged. NBC, in announcing its XFL deal, noted that WWF programming on the USA Network often beats ABC's "Monday Night Football" in attracting men of ages 12 to 24. ABC is a unit of Walt Disney.

But the "Monday Night Football" audience, with an annual median income of more than $50,000, is one of the most sought-after by advertisers -- with 30-second commercials going for as much as $400,000. By contrast, a 30-second commercial on the much-lower-rated "Smackdown!" -- which airs on Thursday nights -- sells for an average of about $60,000. Ads on a traditional entertainment show, with similar ratings, could go for as much as twice that amount.

Of course, NBC could silence skeptics if the XFL delivers enough of the viewers advertisers want. The network is expected to further explain its thinking with the XFL to affiliates at a meeting this weekend in Las Vegas. Some will need a lot of convincing about the XFL.

"It is a big gamble," says Alan Frank, chairman of NBC's affiliate board and general manager of NBC affiliate WDIV in Detroit.

-- (The Wall Street JournaL)