| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
4:00pm ET | |
| |
| • | ESPN Today Launches First Phase Of Campaign Against Cox Communications |
| • | The Home Depot Today Renews U.S. Olympic Team Sponsorship Through ‘08 |
| • | WNBA Charlotte Sting Today Unveil New Colors, Logo To Match Bobcats |
| • | Unilever Bestfoods, Tommy Baldwin Racing Today Ink 12-Race Deal For ‘04 |
| • | Developers’ Agreement For $1.3B Meadowlands Xanadu Project Completed |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Tonight’s Events/Channel Surfing/In Other News/The Daily Stat |
ESPN TODAY LAUNCHES WEB SITE AIMED AT DISARMING COX THREAT
ESPNtoday began the first phase of a campaign in Cox Communications markets withthe launch of www.keepespn.com to warnsubscribers about Cox’ threat to remove ESPN from basic cable or by placing iton a paid sports tier. The Web siteprovides information from ESPN’s perspective, FAQ and information on Coxcompetitors. Also, newspaper ads andradio spots will run in Cox’ top ten markets (ESPN).
ESPN.comcurrently has a pop-up window on its homepage with the following text: “CoxCable wants to rip ESPN from your basic cable lineup and make you paymore. NO MORE SPORTSCENTER. Click Here for more information on how youcan keep Cox Cable from taking away your ESPN. Because without ESPN, who needs Cox Cable” (THE DAILY).
HOME DEPOT TO REMAIN U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM SPONSOR THROUGH ‘08
TheHome Depot today announced that it has renewed its sponsorship of the U.S.Olympic and Paralympic teams through ’08, and expanded its support of the USOCJob Opportunities Program. Under therenewal, The Home Depot will increase the number of U.S. Olympians it employs from98 to 204. The company has sponsoredthe U.S. Olympic team since ’94 (The Home Depot).
WNBA CHARLOTTE STING TODAY UNVEIL NEW COLORS AND LOGO
TheWNBA Charlotte Sting today unveiled a redesigned logo and team colors, to drawon the color scheme of the Bobcats, as Bob Johnson owns both clubs. The Sting will unveil new uniforms prior tothe start of the WNBA season. Tocoincide with the new logo, the team re-launched its official Web site.
TheSting today also named coach Trudi Lacey as GM. In the dual role, Lacey will be responsiblefor all basketball operations (Sting).
FOUR YOUNG DRIVERS TO COMPETE IN NO. 6 DODGE NEXT SEASON
UnileverBestfoods and Tommy Baldwin Racing today announced that they have signed a12-race agreement that will place four young drivers in the No. 6 Dodge duringthe ’04 NASCAR Busch Series. Unileverwill promote its Ragu pasta sauce, Shedd’s Spread Country Crock and Hellman’smayonnaise brands. Each driver willcompete in three races (Unilever Bestfoods).
PEPSI-COLA TODAY UNVEILS NEW AD CAMPAIGN, INCLUDES NFL SPOT
Pepsi-Colatoday unveiled its new ad campaign with the tagline, “Pepsi. It’s theCola.” The first phase of the campaignincludes three TV spots, which will debut Sunday on NFL telecasts and duringprimetime programming. One of thespots, “Tailgating,” is a tribute to NFL Films and features a group oftailgaters preparing for a game (Pepsi-Cola).
LIMITED-EDITION MARLINS COCA-COLA SIX-PACKS HIT RETAIL TODAY
FloridaCoca-Cola Bottling today released limited-edition six-packs of Coca-ColaClassic featuring the Marlins logo and the message, “The Refreshing Taste ofVictory: Marlins 2003 Champions.” Justover 172,000 six-packs were produced. Coca-Cola, which has been a Marlins’ sponsor since the team’s inceptionin ’93, plans to release a commemorative bottle in time for Opening Day ’04 (FloridaCoca-Cola Bottling).
BUZZER BEATERS
SportingNews this week features Titans QB Steve McNair on the cover, with theheader, “He’s Tough. He’sTalented. He’s Poised andPersistent. He’s the NFL’s MVP. So What Makes Steve McNair Tick?”
SportsIllustrated this week offers its college basketball preview, featuring UConn’s EmekaOkafor and Diana Taurasi on the cover. ESPN Magazine featured the duo on its college basketball previewlast week (THE DAILY).
| | |
| Sporting News | Sports Illustrated |
TheBergen RECORD reports that the Mills Corp./Mack-Caliagreement for the $1.3B Xanadu redevelopment project at the Meadowlands “hasbeen completed and … the massive project remains on target for groundbreakingin the spring.” Copies of the summaryand agreement will be presented to the NJSEA BOD November 26, “and a vote byphone is planned for early December” (BergenRECORD, 11/19).
WilsonSporting Goods today announced the purchase of Athletic Training EquipmentCompany (ATEC), which manufactures various training equipment, includingpitching machines. Effectiveimmediately, ATEC becomes a part of the Wilson Team Sports Company (WilsonSporting Goods).
TheLouisville COURIER-JOURNAL reports that the city of Louisville next spring willshowcase “200 life-size fiberglass horses, each decorated by a different localartist.” Every Kentucky Derby winnerwill be represented in the public art project, which is “expected to raise$1[M] for Brightside, a city beautification project” (LouisvilleCOURIER-JOURNAL, 11/19).
MGMMirage and English Premier League club Newcastle United today announced a 50/50joint venture agreement to build a mix-used development on a site adjacent toNewcastle United’s soccer stadium. Thedevelopment could include a 100,000 square foot casino, depending uponimplementation of proposed gaming reform laws (MGM Mirage).
TheLambeau Field renovation project received the Project Leadership Award from theConstruction Owners Association of America. Hammes Company Sports Development, the project manager, nominated the$295M project in the private owners construction project category (GREENBAY PRESS-GAZETTE, 11/19).
CORRECTION:The ClosingBell yesterday incorrectly reported the number of page views on NBA.comduring the first week of November. Thecorrect figure is more than 100 million (THE DAILY).
TONIGHT’S EVENTS
TheL.A. chapter of the National Sports Marketing Network will host a paneldiscussion, “Reaching The Gen Y Audience Through Action Sports: Why Sponsors& Media Have Success,” from 6:00-9:00pm PT at Lunaria in L.A. Panelists include Tony Hawk Enterprises COO PatHawk and ASA Events VP/Integrated Sales & Marketing David Vinturella.
LakersC Shaquille O’Neal will host a “Return to the Title” party at Exitfollowing the Lakers-Knicks game at MSG. O’Neal has invited the Knicks (N.Y. POST, 11/18).
TSNwill debut its Wednesday Night Hockey theme song, “We’re Gonna Win,” writtenand performed by Bryan Adams, directly prior to the 7:30pm ET face-offfor Blue Jackets-Red Wings.
TheNBA will debut the third of more than 50 spots in its “I Love This Game”campaign, during Pistons-Grizzlies at 9:00pm ET on ESPN. Ashanti and Jimmy Kimmel arefeatured in the spot.
Afundraising event featuring former Ohio State and Michigan football players tobenefit the Central Ohio Diabetes Foundation will be held from 6:00-10:00pm ETat the Buckeye Hall of Fame Café. OhioState historian Jack Park will emcee the event, which features amemorabilia auction (COLUMBUSDISPATCH, 11/18).
CHANNEL SURFING
NASCARdriver Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be onthe “Hot Seat” during “SportsCenter” at 6:00pm ET.
LakersG Derek Fisher, Suns F Amare Stoudemire and Liberty F Teresa Weatherspoon will be on “Wheel of Fortune” as part of NBA Week.
ESPNwill air the Preseason NIT: Nevada-Connecticutat 7:00pm ET.
ESPNClassic’s “SportsCentury” will profile the year 1985 at 7:00pm ET.
ESPN2will air NCAA football: Marshall-CentralFlorida at 7:30pm ET.
MississippiQB Eli Manning and Panthers QB Jake Delhomme are scheduled to appearon FSN’s “BDSSP.”
TLCwill air “Sports Disasters II” at8:00pm ET.
ESPNwill air Pistons-Grizzlies at 9:00pmET.
ESPN2will air the Preseason NIT: Minnesota-Utahat 10:30pm ET.
NFLNetwork’s condensed “Game of the Week”features Chiefs-Bengals at 9:00pmET.
HBO’s“Inside the NFL” will featurePackers coach Ray Sherman and his familycoping with the May 18 death of his son, Ray Sherman Jr.,at 10:00pm ET.
Teenagesoccer phenom and new MLS signee FreddyAdu will be on CBS’ “Late Show”with David Letterman at 11:35pm ET.
ESPN’s“OTL Nightly” will also examineSherman’s tragedy at midnight ET.
A&E’s“Biography” will profile Ron Howardat 8:00pm ET.
E!’s“True Hollywood Story” will profile KobeBryant at 8:00pm ET.
CBSwill air the Victoria’s Secret FashionShow at 10:00pm ET.
HEADLINERS
Hereare tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:
| “Late Show” | Greg Kinnear |
| “The Tonight Show” | Ron Howard |
| “The Late Late Show” | Maria Menounos |
| “Late Night” | Eliza Dushku |
| “Jimmy Kimmel Live” | Ron Livingston |
TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
NEWSDAY’sMonte Young writes of Islanders co-Owner Charles Wang’s bid to acquirethe Nets, “While Wang’s proposal has given new urgency to efforts by NassauCounty Executive Thomas Suozzi to develop aplan for a new coliseum, the project would also face major hurdles. The cash-strapped county would have toborrow hundreds of millions of dollars not only for a new building for the Netsand the Islanders, but also build transportation lines, including railways androadways, that experts say are needed to attract a solid fan base” (NEWSDAY).
The Toronto GLOBE & MAIL’s Roy MacGregor writes ofthe NHL’s first outdoor game, “There is a greatdeal of faux nostalgia surrounding this event. The Classic, after all, will be played outdoors, but on layeredice similar to that found in an indoor [NHL] game. The boards will have advertising on them instead of holes inthem. … But even so, there can be no doubt that this outdoor match has toucheda national longing for something lost” (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL).
SeeThe Daily Insider’s Articles ofInterest section for more sports business-related links.
TODAY’S TEASER…
Mindbenders: What has a neck, but nohead, and two arms, but no hands?
IN OTHER NEWS……
TheHOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and U.S.Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) “want the government to require DirecTV tocarry all local TV channels as a condition of the satellite TV company’s dealto sell a stake in the business to News Corp.” (HOLLYWOODREPORTER, 11/19).
BROADCASTING& CABLE reports that CBS “remained on top inviewers, households and adults 25-54, while NBC held on to its lead in adults18-49, after the second full week of the November sweeps,” which endedSunday. CBS is the “only network to seesweep-to-date gains in viewers, adults 25-54 and adults 18-49, improving 12%,8% and 2% respectively. NBC is down 14%in viewers, down 12% in adults 25-54, and down 14% in adults 18-49, facing thelargest sweep-to-date decreases of any of the big four networks” (BROADCASTINGCABLE.com,11/19).
TheWALL STREET JOURNAL notes that America Online today will formally announce thatit has “launched an audio and video search feature, part of a broader effort toattract broadband customers with content such as music clips, movie trailersand sports highlights.” The companywill also announce the acquisition of Seattle-based search technology providerSingingfish (WALLSTREET JOURNAL, 11/19).
THE DAILY STAT: PRIMETIME NIELSEN RATINGS
Thefollowing lists the final Nielsen ratings for the top ten primetime shows forthe week of November 10-16. Alsoprovided are the weekly viewership averages for each net (USA TODAY, 10/19).
| RK | PROGRAM | NET | DAY | RAT/SHR | VIEWERS (IN MILLIONS) |
| 1) | CSI | CBS | Thu | 17.8/27 | 29.3 |
| 2) | Survivor: Pearl Islands | CBS | Thu | 12.6/19 | 22.1 |
| 3) | Andy Griffith Show Reunion | CBS | Tue | 13.5/21 | 21.6 |
| 4) | ER | NBC | Thu | 13.5/22 | 20.7 |
| 5) | Friends | NBC | Thu | 13.2/21 | 20.2 |
| 6) | Everybody Loves Raymond | CBS | Mon | 12.3/18 | 19.2 |
| 7) | Law & Order | NBC | Wed | 12.7/21 | 18.9 |
| 7) | Monday Night Football: Eagles-Packers | ABC | Mon | 12.5/21 | 18.9 |
| 9) | CSI: Miami | CBS | Mon | 12.0/19 | 18.4 |
| 10) | Friends (repeat) | NBC | Thu | 11.9/18 | 18.0 |
| | |
| NET | VIEWERS |
| CBS | 14.1 |
| NBC | 11.2 |
| ABC | 10.4 |
| Fox | 7.5 |
| WB | 4.3 |
| UPN | 3.8 |
…TODAY’S ANSWER
A shirt.
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