CBS Nearly Sold Out Of NCAA Ads; Early MMOD Sign-Ups Huge

CBS Says Very Little Ad Inventory Remains For Tournament

CBS is saying that it has sold up to 95% of its goal for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, which begins next Thursday. The net is commanding rates from $100,000 per 30-second spot in the early rounds to $1.2M for the Final Four, figures that represent a mid-single-digit percentage increase from last year, said CBS Sports Exec VP/Sales & Marketing John Bogusz. Sunday’s “Selection Show” is completely sold out, with 30-second spots going for $75,000-80,000. For the tournament itself, Coca-Cola, GM’s Pontiac and Cingular/AT&T are returning as Corporate Champion partners. State Farm, The Hartford, Enterprise, DiGiorno’s and Lowe’s also are returning as partner sponsors. CBS has also claimed several new sponsors, including UPS and Bank of America (John Ourand, THE DAILY). CBS Senior VP/Sports Sales & Marketing Chris Simko said that CBS “has been successful at converting about 20% of its network sponsors into CSTV advertisers.” DAILY VARIETY’s Steven Zeitchik notes “all told, ad revenue could total” $100M (DAILY VARIETY, 3/7).

MMOD: CBS execs said they have received more than 250,000 sign-ups for VIP access to "March Madness on Demand" (MMOD) the net’s free online offering the first three rounds of tournament games. The sum is nearly equal to the 265,000 VIP registrants last year for the debut of MMOD, and more than halfway to the soft cap of 400,000 CBS has established for the online distribution of the tournament.

CBS Seeing Continued Success With March Madness On Demand

CBS President of News & Sports Sean McManus said MMOD “has continued to exceed every expectation we’ve had. We’ve doubled ad sales [to about $10M] for this, which is basically unheard of. But the potential for it is almost limitless" (Eric Fisher, SportsBusiness Journal). By enhancing CBS SportsLine.com for the tournament to include social networking and other features, CBS Interactive COO Steve Snyder said that the “goal is to find ways to hold on to users who visit [CBS SportsLine.com] after the game ends to update their brackets.” The site is allowing “certain visitors to publish their own ‘glog’ (game log) hoping that it will have a viral effect on traffic” (DAILY VARIETY, 3/7).

WATCH IT HERE: CSTV for the first time will air two first-round out-of-market games, one each on the first two days of the tournament. The games will be produced by CBS Sports with CBS announcers and graphics. CSTV will also air every press conference and some pre-game practices (Mult., 3/7). Meanwhile, CBS Sports Exec VP & Exec Producer Tony Petitti said that there will be “several innovations” for TV coverage of the tournament this year, “including a slow-motion camera that allows greater focus in the background and a type of ‘loose 3-D effect’ as well as the devotion again this year to switch from game to game at an increased pace in the early rounds” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 3/7).

PACKER BACKER: USA TODAY’s Michael Hiestand writes one “can’t accuse” CBS basketball analyst Billy Packer “of shilling for CBS’ big event” or “expect him to hold back on the selection show” this Sunday. Packer, who criticized eventual Final Four participant George Mason’s inclusion in the field last year, said, “I could (not) care less what somebody thinks.” He called the style of play of some college basketball teams “summer-league guys showboating. It’s like the NBA All-Star Game. I call that And1. It’s not basketball.” Packer said the rule forcing high school graduates to wait a year before entering the NBA Draft has created “a problem much bigger than anybody in position of control is admitting” (USA TODAY, 3/7).