SNY Launches New Ad Campaign; Includes Posters At Yankee Stadium Subway Stop

SportsNet N.Y., the TV home of the Mets, has taken over the signage at the Yankee Stadium subway stop in the Bronx to promote its "Geico SportsNite" show. The campaign kicks off today and will last through August. Riders on the B, D and 4 lines will see images for SNY as they enter and exit the Bronx subway stop at 161st Street and River Avenue (John Ourand, THE DAILY). In N.Y., Richard Sandomir reported the campaign "makes its case for the 'SportsNite' show’s half-hour of local sports coverage by using dolls and figurines wearing real or ersatz New York team uniforms." The eight ads "show the little tchotchkes extremely distressed that fans wait for a few minutes of local sports coverage at the end of the 10 or 11 p.m. news; sift through ESPN’s 'SportsCenter' for news of their teams; or watch MSG or the YES Network, which focus on the teams they carry but have no local news show like 'SportsNite.'" In all, 117 posters "will be plastered throughout the station in July and August -- some as small as 31 inches by 19 inches and some as large as 56 by 176." SNY President Steve Raab: “Why wouldn’t we go to that subway station? In the summer, if we’re going to do an outdoor campaign, we want to go where the sports fans are.” He added, “This isn’t about the Mets’ network trying to co-opt Yankee fans. This is a regional sports network that has always positioned itself as the home of all things New York sports, taking the program that is most representative of that positioning and going for sports fans.” Sandomir noted, "There is room for more viewers for 'SportsNite.'" Since January, the show has "averaged about 40,000 viewers each night, from 10:30 p.m. Eastern, its first live showing, to 1:30 a.m., after its four live updates" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/8).