| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Thursday March 13, 2003
4:00pm ET | |
| |
| • | Highlights From The Second Day Of The 2003 World Congress Of Sports |
| • | ESPN Says Regular-Season NCAA Men’s Basketball Set ESPN2 Ratings Record |
| • | K2 Tells The SEC That All Contingencies In Rawlings Deal Have Not Been Met |
| • | Promotion Of The Week: Spring ‘Brake’ At Sebring Raceway |
| • | Mr. Baseball Can Now Be Called Mr. Hall Of Fame |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Tonight’s Events/Channel Surfing/In Other News/The Daily Stat |
“FUTURE OF SPORTS ON TV” ONE OF MANY WORLD CONGRESS TOPICS
The second day of the 2003 World Congress of Sports, presented by Octagon and sister publication SportsBusiness Journal, at the Waldorf-Astoria in N.Y. opened with the panel discussion, “Network Sports Presidents Roundtable: The Challenging Future Of Sports On TV.” Fox Sports President Ed Goren, HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg, Turner Entertainment Group President Mark Lazarus and CBS Sports President Sean McManus were the panelists.
McManus, when asked if sports is a good business for the networks, said, “We have a mandate that really comes down from [Viacom President] Mel Karmazin, and his mandate is simple. We can spend whatever we want to acquire a sports property, but at a very minimum, we have to make a dollar on that investment. … If you ever asked us if we could undo any of our deals and not do them, would we take advantage of that, the answer is no.”
Lazarus said Turner looks at sports properties in “the totality of our network structure,” in an effort to support three core constituencies: consumers and viewers, marketing partners and cable operators.
Goren pointed to the ratings success of NASCAR and said, “The value goes beyond Fox Sports and the network. You’ve got to look at what NASCAR has done for FX, what it’s done for Speed Channel and to a lesser degree Fox Sports Net.” Goren later touted Fox’s MLB deal, saying, “Regular-season baseball on a Saturday afternoon at 1:00 in the summer is getting a 2.7 rating in an environment where some networks are celebrating time buys that do a 1.4 or 1.3 late in the afternoon in fall or winter. Baseball in the regular season gets a very respectable number of eyeballs.”
The panel also discussed the future of sports on cable TV. McManus said he does not see the new NBA deal as the start of a trend, saying he is a “firm believer that most of the major sports you see on network television today are going to stay on network television.” But Greenburg said, “We’re all dinosaurs up here to one degree in that we all grew up with ABC, NBC, CBS. … All of our kids do not differentiate to a large degree between the cable television universe and the networks. When they watch a television show, they don’t care what channel it’s on.”
Following the panel discussion, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig delivered the morning session’s keynote address. During the Q&A session, Selig was asked about the inclusion of MLB players in the Olympics. Selig: “The Olympic situation -- quite frankly, for those who follow baseball, the ebb and flow of the game is critical, and you can’t disturb that in the middle of the season. It just isn’t possible, but we will try to work on things in the future and see if there is some accommodation we can make.”
On the notion that smaller market teams use revenue-sharing money to pay off debt rather than invest in player development and scouting, Selig said, “That’s just sheer nonsense. We went through and traced every single revenue-sharing dollar and couldn’t find one club or one dollar that hadn’t been spent on player development. The fact of the matter is, as disparity grew -- and it grew dramatically in the early ‘90s -- those clubs started losing a lot of money, and they had to cut just to stay in business. But when you tracked all the dollars, the fact of the matter is those dollars were going into player development.”
For more on the 2003 World Congress of Sports, see tomorrow’s issue of The Daily.
NCAA MEN’S HOOPS RATINGS AHEAD OF LAST YEAR ON ESPN/ESPN2
ESPN today announced that regular season NCAA men’s basketball games averaged a 0.90/ (782,000 HHs) Nielsen cable rating on ESPN, up 7% and 8% in ratings and viewership, respectively, from a 0.84/ (721,000 HHs) last year. ESPN2 averaged a 0.43/ (365,000 HHs) in 91 telecasts, increases of 10% and 15%, respectively from a 0.39/ (318,000 HHs) last year. The average represent the highest-rated and most-viewed season in ESPN2 history and the best year on ESPN since ’99-‘00 (THE DAILY).
K2 HAS CONCERNS ABOUT ITS PLANNED ACQUISITION OF RAWLINGS
REUTERS reports that L.A.-based K2 today in filings to the SEC “expressed concern” that “conditions of its proposed deal to buy Rawlings Sporting Goods Inc. have not been met.” The company said that it will be “unable to close the deal unless it can reach agreements to transfer certain contracts Rawlings holds with its commercial partners over to K2.” K2 proposed in December 2002 to buy Rawlings for about $74M in stock (REUTERS, 3/13).
SAN DIEGO COMPANY AWARDED SECURITY CONTRACT FOR ’04 GAMES
The AP reports that San Diego-based Science Applications International made a final offer of $277M to win an Olympic security contract for the ’04 Games in Athens. The contract “calls for the construction and operation of a central security command and communications system” (AP, 3/13).
PROMOTION OF THE WEEK: SPRING BRAKE AT SEBRING RACEWAY
The American Le Mans Series opens its season this weekend at Sebring Int’l Raceway with the 51st annual Mobil 1 “12 Hours of Sebring,” the oldest sports car endurance race in the U.S. Through a marketing partnership with Hawaiian Tropic, the racing series is promoting the “Spring Brake” party zone, an outdoor area inside the track’s walls that features activities and events designed to attract college students on spring break. While the racing began yesterday, the party zone opens tomorrow night with a Battle of the Bands.
On Saturday, “Spring Brake” will feature a Hawaiian Tropic bikini contest, the Mazda Extreme Street import car show, beach volleyball courts, DJ booths and interactive displays from high-performance speaker manufacturer Infinity and performance boat manufacturer Donzi, among others. In addition to sending the winner of the Battle of the Bands to the Hawaiian Tropic finals in Hawaii, the company will offer a consumer sweeps, with prizes including a trip to Hawaii. As if the Hawaiian Tropic models aren’t enough to draw the average male college student, various race teams will have booths inside “Spring Brake” replete with models of their own.
Understanding that the average spring breaker cannot afford a four-day event ticket, which ranges from $80-400, college students can purchase the same four-day ticket for $30.
To support the event, the American Le Mans Series has advertised “Spring Brake” for four weeks in the school newspapers of the Univ. of FL, FL State Univ., Univ. of Miami and the Univ. of South FL. The event is also being promoted as part of race ads in the Tampa Tribune. Numerous radio and cable buys in the four university’s markets support the print campaign. The event is mentioned on the Hawaiian Tropic and Sebring Int’l Raceway Web sites.
While Hawaiian Tropic already brings six promotional models to all American Le Mans Series events, American Le Mans Series VP/Marketing Mike Clark said of further cross-promotion, “There is the possibility to do other events like this, but the timing for Sebring really works.”
Crews from E! will film most of Saturday’s festivities for its “Wild On” series. Sure to make it in front of the E! cameras is Sammy Hagar, whose Cabo Wabo tequila brand will sponsor a car in the race.
Do you have an interesting promotion The Daily should know about? If so, please email Joe Oliver at joeo@sportsbusinessdaily.com
BUZZER BEATERS
The AP reports that toxicology tests released today confirmed that “significant amounts” of a supplement containing ephedra were “partly to blame” for the heatstroke death of Orioles P Steve Bechler (AP, 3/13).
ANANOVA.com reports that sports marketing firm World Sports Solutions (WSS) will hold “an emergency general meeting on March 28 to close the business voluntarily.” WSS could “now be sold to a trade buyer or a management buyout could follow” (ANANOVA.com, 3/13).
Candy company ARCOR has been named the Official Candy of the ATP Nasdaq-100 Open. The company will be sampling a wide variety of candy during the event, conducting interactive games and raffles at their booths and participating with a discount coupon promotion with Winn-Dixie supermarkets, as well as sponsoring the interactive free tennis lessons area (THE DAILY).
The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation today approved S. 275, the Professional Boxing amendments Act of 2003. The bill, among other things, expands the minimum safety standards that all state boxing commissions must enforce (THE DAILY).
Norwegian firefighter Robert Sorlie won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race today, finishing the 1,100-mile race in just over than 9½ days (AP, 3/13).
The SLOC has filed suit against NV-based Coker Equipment on behalf of the Delta Center. The complaint seeks to remove a lien against the arena filed in July ’02 by the company for more than $8,750. The SLOC is charging that the company “never provided materials, services or furnishings to the Delta Center or any of its holdings (AP, 3/13).
All AFL teams are offering discounts and complimentary tickets for all armed forces personnel and their families for the remainder of the ’03 season. Armed forces personnel will be asked to present military ID at the box office to receive the tickets. The U.S. Army is an official AFL sponsor (THE DAILY).
The THOROUGHBRED TIMES reports that racing channel TV Games Network (TVG) has signed a multi-year agreement with Cox Communications, under which Cox will carry TVG beginning with its San Diego market in April (THOROUGHBRED TIMES, 3/13).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
Brewers radio announcer Bob Uecker has been honored with the Ford C. Frick Award by the National Baseball Hall of Fame (THE DAILY).
Luther Vandross this year will record the song “One Shining Moment” for CBS' traditional NCAA tournament video-montage send off (THE DAILY).
Toyota Motorsports today announced the lineup for the 27th annual Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race on Saturday, April 12, in Long Beach. Stars driving in the race include: Angie Everhart, Buzz Aldrin, Picabo Street, and Jesse James.
TONIGHT’S EVENTS
The L.A. chapter of the National Sports Marketing Network will host a panel discussion, “Behind the Scenes of the Los Angeles Marathon,” from 6:00-9:00pm PT. Panelists include L.A. Marathon co-Owner & Exec VP Marie Patrick and Roggin Productions co-Owner & Exec Producer Phils Olsman (THE DAILY).
The 49ers, Hedge Funds Care and the Univ. of CA-Berkeley School of Social Welfare will sponsor the second annual “Open Your Heart to the Children Benefit” at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in S.F. at 4:30pm PT. 49ers co-Owner John York and coach Dennis Erickson are among the 49ers personnel expected to attend (THE DAILY).
CHANNEL SURFING
ESPN will air NCAA men’s basketball conference tournaments: Florida State-Clemson in the ACC tournament at 7:00pm ET, followed by Seton Hall-UConn in the Big East tournament at 9:30pm ET and San Diego State-UNLV in the Mountain West tournament at 12:00am ET.
ESPN2 will air NCAA men’s basketball conference tournaments: Penn State-Indiana in the Big Ten tournament at 5:00pm ET, followed by Georgetown-Syracuse in the Big East tournament at 7:00pm ET and Kansas State-Colorado in the Big XII tournament at 9:30pm ET.
ESPN Classic’s “SportsCentury” will profile Dan Gable at 8:00pm ET.
Comedian Cedric The Entertainer will be on TNT’s “Listen Up!” at 7:00pm ET.
TNT will air Celtics-Nets at 7:30pm ET and Kings-Suns at 10:00pm ET.
MTV’s “Diary” will feature Tony Hawk at 11:00pm ET.
A&E’s “Biography” will profile Katharine Hepburn at 8:00pm ET.
E!’s “True Hollywood Story” will profile The Brat Pack at 8:00pm ET.
Fox will air the 34th NAACP Image Awards at 8:00pm ET.
Actor Will Ferrell will guest host CBS’ “Late Show” at 11:35pm ET as David Letterman continues to recover from a case of the shingles.
HEADLINERS
Here are tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:
| “Late Show” | Chris Rock |
| “The Tonight Show” | Bill O’Reilly |
| “The Late Late Show” | Mena Suvari |
| “Late Night” | Salma Hayek |
| “Jimmy Kimmel Live” | Chris Judd |
TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
CBS SPORTSLINE’s Rick Horrow writes about "the future of the athlete pitchman.” Horrow: “More deals are being done for less money – from 20 to 15[%] less than those signed 15 years ago. An estimated 5[%] of [NBA] players are receiving shoe deals above $100,000; 20[%] are looking at $40,000-10000 endorsements.” Fewer than 1% of basketball shoe deals are worth over $1M, down 3-4% from the mid-1990s (CBS SPORTSLINE).
A N.Y. TIMES editorial states the decision of the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball to forfeit its games “might have been written off as adolescent selfishness were not for the fact that it was heartily endorsed by the school's president and team officials. These supposed mentors about life's challenges chose to stroke the sulkers rather than order them to play or forfeit the scholarships that make them such big men on campus” (N.Y. TIMES).
CBS SPORTSLINE’s Jeff Owens writes that Darlington Speedway's 100th NASCAR race, to be run this weekend, "might be the last spring event there. This will almost certainly be the last year the 53-year-old facility plays host to two Winston Cup races each season.” Owens argues, "NASCAR has outgrown historic old Darlington. Despite its charm, it no longer makes sense to run two races a year at one of its oldest and smallest tracks in a market that NASCAR no longer needs" (CBS SPORTSLINE).
See The Daily Insider’s Articles Of Interest section for more sports business-related links.
IN OTHER NEWS…
The U.S. Commerce Department reports that “war stories and snowstorms kept shoppers away from … stores, driving down sales at (U.S.) retailers by 1.6[%] in February, … the worst showing in 15 months” (AP, 3/13).
THE DAILY STAT: BILLBOARD CHARTS
The following lists Billboard Magazine's top-selling CDs for the week ending March 9 (BILLBOARD, 3/13).
| RK | ALBUM | ARTIST | LABEL |
| 1) | Get Rich Or Die Tryin' | 50 Cent | Shady/Aftermath |
| 2) | Come Away With Me | Norah Jones | Blue Note |
| 3) | Street Dreams | Fabolous | Desert Storm/Elektra |
| 4) | Chocolate Factory | R. Kelly | Jive |
| 5) | La Bella Mafia | Lil' Kim | Queen Bee/Atlantic |
| 6) | Home | Dixie Chicks | Monument/Columbia |
| 7) | Fallen | Evanescence | Wind-up |
| 8) | Cocky | Kid Rock | Lava |
| 9) | Chicago | Soundtrack | Epic |
| 10) | Cradle 2 The Grave | Soundtrack | Bloodline/Def Jam |
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
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