| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Thursday, April 1, 2004
4:00pm ET | |
| |
| • | PepsiCo, NFL Today Announce Extension Of Sponsorship Deal Through 2011 |
| • | Pepsi To Offer Jacobs Field Ticket Promotion For Second Consecutive Season |
| • | NBA Planning To Convert NBDL Into Minor-League System Similar To MLB |
| • | MLBAM Today Announces Initiative To Offer Service To Three Providers |
| • | Promotion Of The Week: Coca-Cola Leverages NCAA Status With Dasani Fest |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Tonight’s Events/Channel Surfing/In Other News/The Daily Stat |
PEPSICO TODAY ANNOUNCES EXTENSION OF NFL DEAL THROUGH 2011
PepsiCoand the NFL today announced an agreement in principle to extend theirsponsorship deal, which was set to expire after the ’06 season, through the2011 season. Sources of The Dailyvalue the deal at $560M over the next eight years, $130M of which is the rightsfee for all NFL trademarks for the Pepsi, Tropicana and Frito-Lay brands. PepsiCo will spend approximately $170M overthe course of the deal to become an NFL Network advertiser and increase mediaspending on game telecasts. Theremaining $260M will be spent on various activations, including NFL Kickoff andthe Super Bowl. When combined with theseparate deal struck in February by the company’s Gatorade brand, PepsiCo hascommitted more than $1B to the NFL though the 2011 season. PepsiCo’s previous five-year deal was valuedat $160-200M (THE DAILY).
PEPSI TO OFFER JACOBS FIELD TICKET PROMOTION FOR SECOND SEASON
TheIndians today announced that Pepsi will offer a Jacobs Field ticket promotionfor the second consecutive season, under which bleacher tickets will behalf-price for all home games in April and May. Beginning today, the offer will appear on Pepsi, Diet Pepsi,Mountain Dew and Dr Pepper cans throughout the Cleveland area. Pepsi has been an Indians corporate sponsorsince Jacobs Field opened in ’94 (Indians).
NBA PLANNING TO CONVERT NBDL INTO TRUE MINOR-LEAGUE SYSTEM
BLOOMBERGNEWS reports that the NBA is “planning to form a minor-league system similar to baseball’s, whereplayers could be shuttled between affiliates and NBA teams.” The minor league would be “made up of teamsin the NBA-owned and operated [NBDL], which would be increased to 15 teams fromsix over the next few years.” NBACommissioner David Stern: “I’m for it if the coaches and generalmanagers are for it.” Stern alsoindicated that two NBA teams would share one minor-league club (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 4/1).
MLBAM TO OFFER SERVICE TO CHARTER, COMCAST, CABLEVISION
MLBAMtoday announced an initiative to offer MLB.com All-Access service to CharterCommunications, Cablevision and Comcast. The premium service enables broadband subscribers to watch live videoand listen to live audio online of every game played. Every game is also available in archived format. Additionally, searchable video clips andcustomizable highlight reels will be available. Each company will pay MLBAM a wholesale fee for every All-Accesssubscriber (MLBAM).
Meanwhile,MLBAM also announced today a content licensing agreement with InfoSpace Mobileto allow fans to personalize their cell phone screens with logos from all 30MLB clubs (MLBAM).
PROMOTION OF THE WEEK: DASANI FEST HEADS TO SAN ANTONIO
Withthe Final Four and the accompanying crowds descending upon San Antonio thisweekend, Coca-Cola is leveraging its NCAA corporate partnership to promote itsDasani bottled water brand Sunday through the second annual Dasani Fest. Set in Sunset Station, a 250,000-square-footpark adjacent to the Alamodome, the free outdoor festival will featureperformances by musical acts Train, Blues Traveler, Better Than Ezra, SisterHazel and Grupo Vida. A cookingcompetition featuring NCAA coaches partnered with local chefs, and a family areapresented by McDonald’s are the festival’s other draws.
DasaniAssociate Brand Manager Blair Owens told The Daily that thepurpose of the event is to increase brand awareness, saying, “It’s a good tiefor us because it captures the passion and energy of Final Four weekend andit’s available to those with and without tickets.” Owens expects 35,000 people throughout the day, nearly threetimes the total from last year’s admittedly more modest event in New Orleans. Owens: “We’re scaling it up in order to havea bigger and better presence this year.”
SKILLETSHOWDOWN:At 2:30pm CT, Dasani will present the Slam Dunk Skillet Showdown, arole-reversal event emceed by CBS Sports’ Bonnie Bernstein, in whichlocal chefs shoot free throws for ingredients and then “coach” their NCAAcounterparts on the finer points of Southwestern fare. Coaches Tom Izzo, Roy Williams,Kelvin Sampson and Mike Brey – all with Final Four experience insome capacity – will attempt to take the Iron Skillet from defending champion MikeJarvis. Other NCAA coaches,including Rick Majerus and Mike Davis, will judge the finishedproducts. Food Network will be on handto tape a segment for a future show, potentially generating additional exposurefor the brand. Owens said of the event:“It really just turns into a fun activity where they compete with each other.”
LOCALPROMOTION:Coca-Cola has purchased over 400 total radio spots on six stations during thepast two weeks to promote the festival. In addition to advertising on MySA.com, print ads touting a Dasanisweepstakes have run in the alternative publication, the San AntonioCurrent. Furthermore, the 98 McDonald’srestaurants in southwest Texas have been offering salad combos with Dasani, andhave featured Dasani Fest-themed posters and tray-liners.
RADIODAYS: Radionetworks Univision and Westwood One will provide remote coverage from thefestival. Univision will tailor itscoverage towards its Spanish-speaking audience, while Westwood One will recordand mix the day’s musical acts to repackage for future broadcasts. Though the Dasani Fest is a local event,Westwood One will provide national exposure, of which Owens said, “They’llchoose the best single and then rebroadcast it to all the markets they reachthroughout the United States.”
CHARITABLETIE: The VFoundation for Cancer Research will receive a $10,000 donation in the name ofthe Slam Dunk Skillet Showdown winner and a portion of the proceeds fromRestaurant Row, where 13 local restaurants will offer $4 samples of their housespecialties, as well as Coca-Cola products.
Doyou have an interesting promotion about which The Daily shouldknow? If so, please email JacobCrawford at jacobc@sportsbusinessdaily.com.
BUZZER BEATERS
Theofficial Web site of Real Madrid notes that the Spanish soccer club and adidashave extended their agreement for an additional four years to now run throughJune 2012 (RealMadrid.com,4/1).
CSTVtoday announced it is expected to launch in six new markets within the nextweek. It will launch on Bright HouseNetworks in Detroit and Bakersfield, CA; on Insight Communications in Columbus,OH, and Evansville, IN; as well as on Time Warner Cable in Austin, TX, TerreHaute, IN, and St. Augustine, FL (CSTV).
DCUnited today announced that single-game tickets for Saturday’s opener againstthe San Jose Earthquakes, Freddy Adu’s MLS debut, are sold out. A new seating configuration for RFK Stadiumthis season, in which only the lower bowl and mezzanine levels will be opened,means a capacity crowd is 24,603 (DC United).
TheRaptors today announced that the contract of Senior VP & GM GlenGrunwald, which expires June 30, will not be renewed. Grunwald relinquishes his GM positionimmediately to Raptors consultant Jack McCloskey, but will assist theorganization through the initial transition (Raptors).
49ersco-Owner John York, on the club’s desire for a new stadium: “We’d like anew stadium, but we’ll not rule out a major renovation (of Candlestick). In this cost-conscious period wheremunicipalities are in terms of their own debts, it’s going to be reasonable tothink about all alternatives” (OAKLANDTRIBUNE, 4/1).
GOLFWORLD reports that the LPGA, which “called a meeting with Korean players, theirparents and agents last August to discuss rules, is now putting its own peoplethrough diversity training. Some LPGAstaff will attend a Korean culture seminar during the Office Depot Championshipthis week” (GOLF WORLD, 4/2 issue).
GiantsQB Jesse Palmer, when asked if it would bother him 15 years from now tobe better known as “The Bachelor” than as an NFL QB: “I guess it depends howthe ratings go” (AP,4/1).
TheCALGARY SUN reports that the NLL has awarded the Calgary Roughnecks the ’05All-Star Game (CALGARY SUN, 4/1).
CollegiatePacific CEO Michael Blumenfeld today announced that the company hasclosed the acquisition of Indiana-based Kesslers Team Sports, a company specializingin the distribution of team sports products (Collegiate Pacific).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
TheJACKSONVILLE BUSINESS JOURNAL reports that WAPE-FM listeners “expressed shockwhen station hosts reported that NFL officials had voted yesterday to move thegame to New York because Jacksonville wasn’t ready. Then some remembered the date: April Fool’s Day.” Jacksonville Super Bowl Host Committee Dirof Communications Heather Surface: “The Host Committee appreciates agood joke as much as the next guy, but, after three hours, the ‘joke’ went abit too far” (BIZJOURNALS.com,4/1).
TONIGHT’SEVENTS
NHLCommissioner Gary Bettman will be honored with the Cornell Univ.Industrial & Labor Relations School’s Judge William B. Groat Alumni Awardin a ceremony at the Roosevelt Hotel in N.Y. The award is given annually to the alumnus who has demonstratedexceptional professional accomplishment in the field of industrial and laborrelations.
Ravenscoach Brian Billick will address the Medill School of Journalism atNorthwestern Univ. (USA TODAY, 4/1).
TheBlackhawks will present 23 randomly selected fans attending the team’s 7:30pmCT game against the Predators with autographed game-worn jerseys following thegame.
WWEwomen’s champion Victoria will make a guest appearance at the AHLCincinnati Mighty Ducks-Houston Aeros 7:00pm CT game at Toyota Center.
During halftime of the NIT Championship game at MSG,DirecTV will donate $100,000 to the V Foundation for Cancer Research inconjunction with a promotion with ESPN for the ’03-04 FullCourt PPV collegebasketball package.
JerrySeinfeldwill co-host with Steve Somers on WFAN-AM from 5:00-6:00pm ET (N.Y.POST, 3/31).
CHANNEL SURFING
ESPN2will air the high school girls’ basketball McDonald’sAll-American Game at 5:00pm ET.
N.Y.Jets President Jay Cross will appearon CNBC’s “Kudlow & Cramer” at 5:00pm ET.
CBS’Billy Packer will appear on CNBC’s “Bullseye”at 6:00pm ET.
ESPNwill air the men’s NIT Championship: Rutgers-Michiganat 7:00pm ET.
ESPN2will air a Stanley Cup preview show at 7:30pm ET, followed by Red Wings-Blues at 8:00pm.
TNTwill air Kings-Mavericks at 8:00pmET and Rockets-Lakers at 10:30pm.
ProFootball HOFers Eric Dickerson, Paul Hornung and Marcus Allen and N.Y. Post columnist Peter Vecsey are scheduled to appear on FSN’s “BDSSP.”
ESPNwill air coverage of the NCAA slam-dunkand three-point contest at 9:00pmET.
OutdoorLife Network will debut a new half-hour weekly program, “Road to the Tour,”at 9:00pm ET. The show featurescorrespondents embedded within the camps of several Tour de France contenders,including Lance Armstrong and Tyler Hamilton.
SISenior Writer Alan Shipnuck willappear on CNBC’s “Dennis Miller” at 9:00pm ET.
ESPN2will air coverage of the WTA’s Nasdaq-100Open at 11:00pm ET.
Pokerplayer Scotty Nguyen will appear onNBC’s “Late Night” at 12:35am ET.
HEADLINERS
Hereare tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:
| “Late Show” | The Rock |
| “The Tonight Show” | Selma Blair |
| “The Late Late Show” | Luke Wilson |
| “Late Night” | Al Franken |
| “Jimmy Kimmel Live” | Chris Klein |
TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
TheBOSTON HERALD’s Michael Felger writes of Patriots Owner Robert Kraft,“It’s probably a little bit what Eddie DeBartolo Jr. felt like in the1980s, or what the Rooney family experienced during the 1970s. When Robert Kraft walks through the hallwaysat the NFL owners meetings, he’s the onewho’s looked upon with envy and/or jealousy, the guy with the modelorganization, the Super Bowl hardware and the league-wide influence” (BOSTONHERALD).
TheNewark STAR-LEDGER’s Matthew Futterman writes of the rivalry between sports radio stations WEPN-AM and WFAN-AM, “At atime when brand power is supposed to mean everything, the duel between the twosports radio stations illustrates that strength can’t be measured only bythe size of a corporate parent’s balance sheet. The ability of WFAN to stay far ahead of its competitor shows thequirky connections consumers make with products, and how resistant men can beto change” (Newark STAR-LEDGER).
TheNew Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE’s Dave Lagarde writes of “Play Golf America,” aninitiative backed by the PGA, PGA Tour, LPGA and USGA to increase golfparticipation, “With $8[M] in advertising money, the organizations will try todrive potential consumers to a new Web site, www.playgolfamerica.com, wherelocal programs willbe featured by golf facilities around the country. … The objective is toreach 17 million golfers who have expressed a desire to play and the 14 millionoccasional golfers who play between one and seven times per year” (NewOrleans TIMES-PICAYUNE).
SeeThe Daily Insider’s Articles OfInterest for more sports business-related links.
TODAY’S TEASER…
SportsBusiness: Accordingto Forbes’ first-ever franchise valuations of the world’s top 20 soccer clubs,how many are located in England?
IN OTHERNEWS…
MULTICHANNELNEWS reports that HBO laid off “approximately 40 employees earlier this week aspart of a restructuring effort. Thelayoffs were isolated to middle-management employees in the network’ssubscriber-marketing and sales departments” (MULTICHANNEL.com, 4/1).
THE DAILY STAT: BILLBOARD CHARTS
Thefollowing lists Billboard Magazine’s top-selling CDs for the week ending March28 (BILLBOARD.com, 4/1):
| RK | ALBUM | ARTIST | LABEL |
| 1) | Confessions | Usher | Arista |
| 2) | Now 15 | Various Artists | EMI/Universal/Sony Music/Zomba |
| 3) | Greatest Hits | Guns N' Roses | Geffen |
| 4) | Let's Talk About It | Carl Thomas | Bad Boy |
| 5) | Feels Like Home | Norah Jones | Blue Note |
| 6) | Fly Or Die | N*E*R*D* | Star Trak |
| 7) | Fallen | Evanescence | Wind-up |
| 8) | The College Dropout | Kanye West | Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam |
| 9) | In This Skin | Jessica Simpson | Columbia |
| 10) | When The Sun Goes Down | Kenny Chesney | BNA |
…TODAY’S ANSWER
Led by world No. 1 ManchesterUnited, seven English clubs are in the top 20.
If you have any questions,comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
The Closing Bell providesan afternoon recap of the latest news and headlines each Monday through Fridayat approximately 4:00pm ET. If you would like to sign up for an e-mail alert tothe Closing Bell, go to MyAccount and personalize your e-mail alert options.
