A 30-second spot for the NCAA men's basketball final
last March cost about $600,000, "making it one of the
highest-priced TV properties for advertisers," according to
Stephen Battaglio of the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. But the
property "is considered one of the most valuable sports
vehicles because its viewers are better-educated and have
higher incomes than the typical" sports viewer. CBS is
"believed to be breaking even on the current contract," but
there "will be more of a challenge with the new deal." BBDO
Exec VP/National Broadcast Buying Steve Grubbs: "In terms of
what the advertisers are willing to pay, the NCAA is very
near the single most expensive out there. I don't know how
much more you can push the envelope before the advertising
community says, 'You want us to pay what?'" BBDO Senior
VP/Sports Marketing Services Larry Novenstern said the deal
will likely become a loss leader for CBS: "CBS (made the
deal) because they had to. They did it for network image.
They did it to keep a promotional base. They did it for
their affiliates" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 11/19).
WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE NCAA: The AP's Doug Tucker writes
that this "river of money that will be flowing into the NCAA
and washing back over its member schools will all be free of
federal taxes. And most immediately, it should make the
NCAA virtually impervious of what many observers had viewed
a growing threat from within." But this "new embarrassment
of riches may make them more vulnerable to the issue of
player pay" (AP, 11/18). USA TODAY's Steve Wieberg reports
that the CBS deal "takes some of the sting out of the NCAA's
$54.5M settlement of a antitrust suit brought by restricted-
earnings coaches" (USA TODAY, 11/19). In Houston, David
Barron writes that the "bottom line" for the NCAA is a
"staggering financial windfall" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 11/19).
