Raleigh-based Total Sports has completed an NCAA
sponsorship deal "just in time to leverage the crown jewel
of that package, the men's basketball tourney," according to
Terry Lefton of BRANDWEEK. The package gives Total Sports
rights to the NCAA championships through the 2002 Final Four
and "exclusivity for real time data transmission (the in-
house vernacular is Totalcast) of NCAA championships." The
deal also "further cements an already cozy relationship"
with NCAA sponsorship sales agency Host Communications,
which, through its parent and subsidiaries, owns around 11%
of Total Sports. Total Sports, which has operated the
FinalFour.net Web site for the past three years, will also
become a sponsor of the Big 12 and SEC conferences. Lefton
notes that the deal "should make life even more difficult
for rival Web sites seeking media credentials" to NCAA
championships. The "promo" gives Total Sports "ammunition"
against SportsLine.com, "which gets some pass-through rights
from CBS' NCAA broadcast contract." One source said Total
Sports "was already seeking a longer contract via direct
negotiations with the NCAA" (BRANDWEEK, 2/28 issue).
