| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Wednesday, April 7, 2004
4:00pm ET | |
| |
| • | ESPN Kicking Off ’04 NHL Playoff Coverage Tonight With 7:30pm ET Game |
| • | Yankees, Red Sox And Royals Announce Sponsorship Agreements |
| • | Hootie Johnson Deflects Questions About Augusta National’s Membership Policy |
| • | Promotion Of The Week: Nestle Activating Sponsorship Of Devil Rays |
| • | UConn C Emeka Okafor Graces Sporting News, Sports Illustrated Covers |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Tonight’s Events/Channel Surfing/In Other News/The Daily Stat |
ESPN KICKING OFF ’04 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF COVERAGE TONIGHT
ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC Sports’ coverage of the ‘04 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs begins tonight with Predators-Red Wings on ESPN at 7:00pm ET, the first of up to 33 Conference Quarterfinal games.
USA TODAY offers a special NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Preview in today’s issue. Dodge runs a two-page ad, while Sheraton, MasterCard, Nextel and Bud Light run full-page ads. Sirius runs a half-page ad (THE DAILY).
In N.Y., Larry Brooks writes, “Parity in the NHL has arrived, without the punitive hard-cap system the league claims is necessary to promote and ensure … competitive parity. … The NHL’s effort to inhibit spending will make it all but impossible for teams to maintain the type of long-term excellence exhibited over the last decade by the Devils and Red Wings”(N.Y. POST, 4/7).
Sporting News NHL writer Kara Yorio appeared on last night's edition of CNBC's "Bullseye" to discuss the beginning of the NHL playoffs and potential lockout. Yorio, on possible contraction: "I don't think that the league's going to disappear. I just think it's going to be much less than it was before, and I just don't think the players understand that. They don't see it. I think ownership kind of does, but I think there are owners willing to hold out the whole season to get rid of some of these lesser teams" ("Bullseye," CNBC, 4/6).
YANKEES, RED SOX, ROYALS ANNOUNCE SPONSORSHIP AGREEMENTS
The Yankees and Canon are set to announce tomorrow a multiyear sponsorship expansion, highlighted by a new 32-foot wide Canon sign on the left-field wall of Yankee Stadium. Canon also becomes the official printer, copier and SLR camera of the club, and will continue to have signage behind home plate during the top of the sixth inning. Concourse dioramas featuring Canon print advertising will be displayed on the field level. Additionally, Canon will be a featured sponsor during pre-game broadcasts on the DiamondVision screen (THE DAILY).
The Red Sox today announced a sponsorship agreement with Cambridge SoundWorks, which becomes the team’s official sound partner. The deal includes the presence of Cambridge’s home-theater gear throughout Fenway Park, as well as stadium signage, Red Sox Magazine ads and POP materials in its retail locations (Red Sox).
Sprint today announced that it has agreed in principle to a multiyear sponsorship with the Royals, under which the company would become the team’s official wireless communications provider (Sprint).
JOHNSON DEFLECTS QUESTIONS ABOUT LACK OF FEMALE MEMBERS
Augusta National Golf Club Chair Hootie Johnson today hosted his annual news conference, and said of sponsors for The Masters, “We don't have any firm plans on sponsors in the future, but I do expect we'll have them in time.” The AP adds that Johnson, “deflecting the first of several questions” about the club’s lack of a female member, said, “I really think the American public is ready for us to talk about golf” (AP, 4/7).
NUGGETS TODAY RAISE SEASON-TICKET PRICES FOR FIRST TIME SINCE '00
The Nuggets today announced their first season-ticket price increase since '00, with the average price increasing to $43.27, up 16% from $37.31. Prices now cost $10-92, compared to $10-78 since the '00-01 season. Still, nearly a third of Pepsi Center's seats will cost $17 or less per game. All renewing full-price season-ticket holders will have the opportunity to purchase two seats to the '05 NBA All-Star Game in Denver (Nuggets).
PROMOTION OF THE WEEK: NESTLE ACTIVATING D’RAYS SPONSORSHIP
After signing a one-year sponsorship deal with the Devil Rays in the offseason, Nestle is taking advantage of the rift between former Yankees bench coach Don Zimmer and Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner. Now Senior Baseball Advisor to the Devil Rays, Zimmer will be celebrated tonight during Don Zimmer Fan Mask day with the Yankees in town for the second game of the Devil Rays’ opening homestand. All fans in attendance will receive a Nestle-branded fan mask of Zimmer’s face, one of several activations Nestle has planned around the team this year.
Today’s game is the first of two promotions the club is planning around Zimmer. The Devil Rays will give away Zimmer bobbleheads to the first 5,000 fans in attendance for the team’s August 2 game against the Red Sox. The team is also utilizing Zimmer in its ’04 TV campaign, in which he acts as Steinbrenner’s limo driver in a humorous spot. Asked if Zimmer has raised the profile of the club, Devil Rays VP/Marketing John Browne told The Daily that Zimmer’s arrival, among other key acquisitions, has boosted the club’s image. Browne: “It has certainly helped, no question.”
DON-A-THON: Not just a pretty face, Zimmer will throw out the ceremonial first pitch alongside his family, as well as join both the WXPX-Pax and WFLA-AM broadcast booths during the game to discuss the event and his new job with the team.
LOCAL PROMOTION: The Devil Rays have used their traditional advertising outlets – the St. Petersburg Times, Tampa Tribune, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, as well as Clear Channel radio stations – to pump the giveaway. Additionally, the club has promoted the event during its spring training and regular-season broadcasts.
CROWD: Though Browne expects a crowd in excess of 30,000 for the game, it is not certain Steinbrenner will be among them. With the team preparing to prompt everyone to don their fan masks in unison, seeing 30,000 Don Zimmer faces may not make for an appealing outing for The Boss. The Devil Rays drew a sellout crowd of 41,755 for last night’s game against the Yankees.
Do you have an interesting promotion about which The Daily should know? If so, please contact Jacob Crawford at jacobc@sportsbusinessdaily.com.
BUZZER BEATERS
Sporting News this week features UConn C Emeka Okafor on the cover, with the header, “Top Dogs! UConn’s Huskies Are Best In Show.”
Sports Illustrated this week features Okafor on the cover, with the header, “Dominant.”
| | |
| Sporting News | Sports Illustrated |
ESPN today announced that it will debut FlyCam during Sunday’s Giants-Padres game at Petco Park. The camera, mounted more than 20 feet above the stands in foul territory, will travel down either the first or third base line to capture overhead views of the game. The remote controlled camera can zoom, pan and tilt (ESPN).
The “Bobcats Hardwood Challenge” concluded yesterday with 63% of 30,429 voters selecting Michael Jordan over David Thompson as their choice as the Carolinas’ best collegiate basketball player of all time. The 63 games of the tournament received a combined 131,488 votes on www.bobcatsbasketball.com (THE DAILY). Read more about the promotion.
The S.F. CHRONICLE reports that with MLB’s approval, the Astros have agreed to let the Giants mark Barry Bonds’ 660th home run, should he hit it in Houston, by “allowing Willie Mays to step out of the dugout after Bonds crosses home plate and pass a diamond-emblazoned torch to his godson” (S.F. CHRONICLE, 4/7).
TONIGHT’S EVENTS
The Japan Society will host the Authors on Asia program focusing on Robert Whiting’s book, “The Meaning of Ichiro: The New Wave From Japan & the Transformation of Our National Pastime,” at 6:30pm ET in N.Y.
The D’Backs tonight continue their policy of making players available for autographs before games during a 10-minute session after batting practice. As part of their “Fans for Life” program, the team will also distribute future opening day tickets for life to babies born yesterday in area hospitals (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 4/7).
CHANNEL SURFING
ESPN will air Predators-Red Wings at 7:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air Giants-Astros at 7:00pm ET.
NBA TV will air part II of its interview with Lakers F Karl Malone, and Nets Coach Lawrence Frank will appear on “NBA TV Live” at 7:00pm ET.
ESPN Classic will profile Arnold Palmer at 8:00pm ET.
ABC will air the season premiere of “The Bachelor,” featuring Giants QB Jesse Palmer at 9:00pm ET.
Travel Channel will air WPT’s Bicycle Casino's Legends of Poker at 9:00pm ET.
ESPN will air Warriors-Trail Blazers at 10:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air Stars-Avalanche at 10:00pm ET.
Rockies P Denny Neagle, Broncos RB Garrison Hearst, former NFLer Jamal Anderson, Fox’ Kevin Kennedy and actors Jason Priestley and Aries Spearsare scheduled to appear on FSN’s “BDSSP.”
Redskins LB LaVar Arrington will appear on NBC’s “Last Call” at 1:35am ET.
A&E’s “Biography” will profile The Rock at 8:00pm ET.
E!’s “True Hollywood Story” will profile Goldie Hawn and Kate Hudson at 8:00pm ET.
HEADLINERS
Here are tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:
| “Late Show” | Jimmy Fallon |
| “The Tonight Show” | Donald Trump |
| “The Late Late Show” | Vivica A. Fox |
| “Late Night” | Lorraine Bracco |
| “Jimmy Kimmel Live” | Hank Azaria (r) |
TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
The PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER’s Stephen A. Smith writes that Flyers and 76ers Chair Ed Snider, when his teams were winning, “transformed his aristocratic persona into that of a cheerleader sans pom-poms. He high-fived Allen Iverson, applauded his troops of multimillionaires and heaped praise on Larry Brown so frequently that you believed the chairman when he called the former Sixers coach ‘the greatest since Vince Lombardi.’ What a difference three years makes. The effects of losing are amazing sometimes, aren't they? … There has been no sign of Snider lately” (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER).
See The Daily Insider’s Articles of Interest section for more sports business-related links.
TODAY’S TEASER…
Mindbenders: Fill in the blanks using the same three letters at the end as at the beginning in the same order to find a place where water flows free:
_ _ _ ergro _ _ _
IN OTHER NEWS……
The N.Y. POST reports that Nielsen Media Research “backed down yesterday from its launch of a controversial new method for tracking viewership in [N.Y.] after minority leaders said blacks and Latinos would be undercounted. In a deal brokered by Rep. Charles Rangel, executives at Nielsen agreed to delay the roll-out of its electronic Local People Meter, originally set for tomorrow, until June 3, allowing time for a task force to examine the impact on minority viewers” (N.Y. POST, 4/7).
THE SMOKING GUN reports that singer Jessica Simpson last week filed suit against New Jersey-based 4 Dog Productions for breach of contract. Though she wore a shirt bearing the company’s Motorock logo during a video shoot, she claims that she “has never been paid.” The deal was “part of a six-figure promotion deal negotiated by her New York marketing reps” last year (THESMOKINGGUN.com, 4/7).
THE DAILY STAT: PRIMETIME NIELSEN RATINGS
The following lists the final Nielsen ratings for the top ten primetime shows for the week of March 22-28 (TV.YAHOO.com, 3/7).
| RK | SHOW | NET | DAY | RAT/SHR | HHs (IN MILLIONS) |
| 1) | American Idol | Fox | Tue | 15.6/24 | 17.0 |
| 2) | The Apprentice | NBC | Thu | 14.6/23 | 15.8 |
| 3) | CSI: Miami | CBS | Mon | 13.4/22 | 14.6 |
| 4) | American Idol | Fox | Wed | 12.2/19 | 13.3 |
| 5) | Everybody Loves Raymond | CBS | Mon | 11.8/18 | 12.8 |
| 6) | 60 Minutes | CBS | Sun | 11.1/18 | 12.0 |
| 7) | Friends | NBC | Thu | 11.0/18 | 11.9 |
| 8) | Two And A Half Men | CBS | Mon | 10.9/17 | 11.8 |
| 9) | Will & Grace | NBC | Thu | 10.6/17 | 11.5 |
| 10) | Law & Order | NBC | Wed | 10.4/18 | 11.2 |
…TODAY’S ANSWER
Underground.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
The Closing Bell provides an afternoon recap of the latest news and headlines each Monday through Friday at approximately 4:00pm ET. If you would like to sign up for an e-mail alert to the Closing Bell, go to My Account and personalize your e-mail alert options.
