CBS is seeking "just eight advertisers" for the '98 and
'99 PGA Championship, "offering sponsorship packages of"
$2.4M annually, according to Langdon Brockinton of
MEDIAWEEK. Sources tell Brockinton that CBS is selling
spots to "a select number of advertisers ... to 'lift the
status' of an event that it considers to be 'premium.'" CBS
is in talks with MasterCard, GM, Nike, IBM, Titleist and
Ernst & Young. According to the sources, sponsors "will
obtain 10 30-second spots on each" weekend broadcast, and
each two-year agreement includes "several spots on a new PGA
Championship preview special and on the network's Thursday-
Friday late-night highlights show (airing after Letterman)."
Sponsors get a presence on the tournament's Web site and can
use the event logo in marketing efforts (MEDIAWEEK, 9/22).
DONE DEALS: AD AGE's Kate Fitzgerald writes on the
increased sponsor involvement around the PGA Tour and adds
that the Tour "wants to cultivate more on-site marketers,"
but is "being cautious to avoid cluttering events with too
many sponsors" (AD AGE, 9/22 issue).
