| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
4:00pm ET | |
| |
| • | NFL Network President & CEO Steve Bornstein Today Discusses Net’s Launch |
| • | Despite Heavy Promotion, Fox Monday Night Premieres Do Not Fare Well |
| • | NBA And Xbox Today Announce “Drive To Get Inside” Marketing Campaign |
| • | Coyotes, AEG LIVE Today Ink Alliance To Book Events At Glendale Arena |
| • | Hurricanes Spin Off Multimedia Department As Creative Agency For Hire |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Tonight’s Events/Channel Surfing/In Other News/The Daily Stat |
BORNSTEIN TODAY OFFERS THOUGHTS ON NFL NETWORK LAUNCH
NFLNetwork President & CEO Steve Bornstein and NFL Films President SteveSabol, as well as “NFL Total Access” host Rich Eisen and CoordinatingProducer Eric Weinberger hosted a conference call this afternoon todiscuss the November 4 launch of NFL Network. The following are excerpts from Bornstein:
Onwhether the net intends to air live regular-season and playoff games: “We arevery happy with our broadcasting package. We have 256 regular-season games that are ably televised by ESPN, ABC,CBS and Fox, and we see no reason to challenge that. … Our intent today is toreally deliver product that the consumer hasn’t had the opportunity to see.”
Onthe net’s intentions when the league’s TV contract comes up for renewal: “Idon’t anticipate that NFL Network will be a player in the next contract.”
Onthe decision to hire Bucs DT Warren Sapp, who was fined last week forbehavior toward officials: “We made this decision months ago.”
Onthe NFL owning the net: “We’re going to be fair, and we’re going to be unbiasedand we’re going tell the truth to our consumers.”
Onnegotiations with cable operators for distribution deals: “I am cautiously optimisticthat we will have new cable arrangements prior to launch.”
Meanwhile,the net today announced the addition of former NFLers Ken NortonJr. and Seth Joyner as regular “NFL Total Access”analysts. Former NFL coaches MarvLevy and Mike Ditka will also provide analysis on aweekly basis. The net also announced that YES Network broadcaster CharleySteiner will host “Football America,” slated to air Sundays at 8:00pmET and Mondays at 9:00pm ET (THE DAILY).
“JOE MILLIONAIRE,” “SKIN” NOT HELPED BY RECENT PROMOTION
TheMarlins host the Yankees tonight at Pro Player Stadium for Game Three of theWorld Series, with Fox beginning coverage at 8:00pm ET. Fox took advantage of yesterday’s off-nightby premiering “The Next Joe Millionaire” and “Skin,” both of which havereceived heavy promotion throughout the MLB playoffs. For example, a combined six advertisements for “The Next JoeMillionaire” and a combined seven for “Skin” ran during the ALCS and NLCS GameSevens. Even so, “The Next JoeMillionaire” earned a 3.1/9 overnight Nielsen rating in Fox’ core demo, adult18-49. “Skin” drew a 2.7/7 overnightfor the same demo (THE DAILY).
BROADCASTING& CABLE notes that “The Next Joe Millionaire” was “fourthin households, viewers and adults 18-49.” “Skin” was also “fourth across the key categories, including 18-34. And that is how Fox finished for the night,with less than a 500,000-total-viewer advantage ahead of fifth-place” WB (BROADCASTINGCABLE.com10/21).
NBA, XBOX TODAY UNVEIL “DRIVE TO GET INSIDE” CAMPAIGN
TheNBA and Xbox today announced an integrated marketing campaign, the “Drive toGet Inside” Challenge, which begins today and runs through the ’04 All-StarGame, to support the launch of XSN Sports’ inaugural basketball game, “NBAInside Drive 2004.” The campaign willbe featured on NBA TV, NBA.com and in NBA print publications. Fan and celebrity tournaments at ChampSports and GameStop locations across the country also support the campaign (NBA).
AEG LIVE TO BOOK AND PROMOTE EVENTS AT GLENDALE ARENA
TheCoyotes and AEG LIVE, the live entertainment subsidiary of AEG, today announceda strategic alliance calling for the company’s Tours & Special Eventsdivision as well as its regional offices to book, present and promote concertsand other live events at Glendale Arena. The 20,000-seat home to the Coyotes is scheduled to open in December (Coyotes).
BUZZER BEATERS
NBADeputy Commissioner Russ Granik said yesterday that Kings F ChrisWebber and Warriors G Jason Richardson “wouldserve yet-to-be-determined suspensions because of their legal issues.” In July, Webber admitted that he lied to afederal grand jury in 2000. Meanwhile,Richardson was convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence (SACRAMENTO BEE, 10/21).
TheTRIANGLE BUSINESS JOURNAL reports that the Hurricanes have spun off their “multimediadepartment as a creative agency for hire. As a separate company, Gale Force Media will provide video, animation,film, graphic design, Web design, print collateral and brand managementservices to third-party clients” (BIZJOURNALS.com,10/21).
IN-basedOak Street Mortgage today announced that it has become a sponsor of the CHLIndianapolis Ice (Oak Street Mortgage).
TheSouth East Hockey League today announced that it has entered into anaffiliation agreement with the Int’l Independent Hockey League for the ’03-04season. The IIHL is a new, eight-teamleague based in the Midwest (SEHL).
FLWOutdoors today announced that Castrol has enhanced its sponsorship of thefishing series by becoming a sponsor of the “FLW Outdoors presented byWal-Mart” radio show (FLW Outdoors).
TONIGHT’S EVENTS
TheRavens will host Football 101 – NFL Workshop for Women from 6:30-9:30pm ET atM&T Bank Stadium. The sold-outevent includes cocktails, a locker room tour and classroom activities for 300women.
76ersPresident & GM Billy King will be honored with the Association forIndependent Growth’s ’03 Civic Leadership Award during a 6:00pm ET ceremony atThe Westin Philadelphia. Theassociation provides support for people with mental retardation and mentalillness.
Apublic memorial service will be held for legendary jockey Bill Shoemakerat Santa Anita Park at 4:00pm PT. Inlieu of flowers, donations should be made to the Shoemaker Foundation, the DonMacBeth Memorial Jockey Fund or the Paralysis Project (L.A. TIMES, 10/14).
TheBrewers will host their second annual Fan Forum from 6:00-8:00pm ET at MillerPark. Brewers President & CEO UlicePayne, GM Doug Melvin and manager Ned Yost will participatein a Q&A session. Parking andadmission to the forum are free.
CHANNEL SURFING
Foxwill air World Series Game Three: Yankees-Marlins at 8:00pm ET.
CowboysOwner Jerry Jones is scheduled to appear on ESPN’s “Rome Is Burning”at 7:00pm ET.
ESPN’s“OTL Nightly” will examine the exclusionary nature of the BCS atmidnight ET.
ESPNClassic’s “SportsCentury” will profile Jim McMahon at 8:00pm ET.
U.S.track & field Olympian Michael Johnson, actor Cuba Gooding Jr.and Jenny McCarthy are scheduled to appear on FSN’s “BDSSP.”
NASCARCOO George Pyne and Winston Cup driver Tony Stewart are scheduledto appear on CNBC’s “Capital Report” at 9:00pm ET.
A&E’s “Biography” will profile Ivana Trump at8:00pm ET.
E!’s“True Hollywood Story” will profile Demi Moore at 8:00pm ET.
HEADLINERS
Hereare tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:
| “Late Show” | Dr. Phil (r) |
| “The Tonight Show” | Rosie O’Donnell (r) |
| “The Late Late Show” | Juliette Lewis (r) |
| “Late Night” | Simon Cowell (r) |
| “Jimmy Kimmel Live” | David Arquette |
TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
ThePortland OREGONIAN’s Boaz Herzog writes, “Soccer is the next frontier. And nowhere is it more important than inEurope, where both Nike and adidas reap a majority of their soccer business. The unfoldingsoccer battle between the two brands means a lot to each company. A Nike victory would further distance itfrom adidas, the globe’s second-biggest sneaker producer, in totalrevenues. And adidas needs to maintainits lead in soccer to get within striking distance of Nike” (PortlandOREGONIAN).
TheWASHINGTON POST’s Amy Shipley writes of Marlinsfans, “Fans say their recent absence from the ballpark – the Marlinsaveraged just more than 10,000 fans last year and 16,000 this season – wasdefiant, calculated and justified. Theysay they aren’t back in droves merely because the Marlins have started winningagain; the psychology is more intricate than that. … South Floridians say theyhave been lured back once again by a unique team that has captured theirhearts” (WASHINGTON POST).
SeeThe Daily Insider’s Articles ofInterest section for more sports business-related links.
TODAY’S TEASER…
Sports& Entertainment: John Cusack starred as Hoops McCann in this ’86 laugher, whichfeatured the Nantucket Regatta, but very little about his namesake sport.
IN OTHER NEWS……
TheL.A. TIMES reports that Euro Disney confirmed yesterday that it “had beenforecasting deeper than anticipated losses at the Disneyland Parisresort.” French newspaper Le Parisienreported that the company “had projected its fiscal 2003 losses would widen by75% to $68[M]” (L.A.TIMES, 10/21).
TheLondon GUARDIAN reports that BSkyB “faces a full-scale investor revolt over theappointment of a successor to departing [CEO] Tony Ball amid mountingconcerns that the selection process has become a farce. Institutional investors have lost faith inthe company’s assurances that James Murdoch will not be parachuted intothe job” (LondonGUARDIAN, 10/21).
THE DAILY STAT: TOP SPORTS SITE FOR WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 5
Thefollowing are the top five sports Web sites ranked according to home uniqueaudience for the week ending October 5, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. Unique Audience = the number of persons in thousands accessing the site ornetwork, with each counted only once. Average time spent = the averageamount of time a visitor has spent at that property for the week. Thisdata is based on 37,000 home users with Internet access (Nielsen//NetRatings). Note: Traffic to the SportsLine.com brand does not include traffic to itsnetwork of sites, such as the NFL Network and PGA Tour.
| RK | BRAND OR CHANNEL | UNIQUE AUD. | AVG. TIME SPENT (HH:MM:SS) |
| 1) | ESPN | 4,973 | 0:21:23 |
| 2) | Yahoo! Sports | 3,571 | 0:17:47 |
| 3) | NFL Internet Network | 2,990 | 0:21:04 |
| 4) | SportsLine.com | 2,220 | 0:23:45 |
| 5) | eBay Sports | 2,105 | 0:11:52 |
…TODAY’S ANSWER
“One Crazy Summer”
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