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Morning Buzz

Morning Buzz, March 27, 2002

 
The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Wednesday, March 27, 2002
9:00am ET

Coors Displaces A-B, Miller As Official NFL Beer Sponsor

IBM Provides Technical Support To NBA's "Read to Achieve" Program

Seahawks To Sport New-Look Uniforms At Afternoon Unveiling

Despite What Kathy Ireland Says, Syracuse Commits Foul By Wearing White

SI's Cover Story Looks At Fan Safety After The Death Of Brittanie Cecil

A Lighter Buzz/In Other News/TV Monitor/Laugh Track/Final Jeopardy!


COORS' FOUR-YEAR NFL DEAL INCLUDES $15M PER YEAR RIGHTS FEE

By Terry Lefton, Editor-at-Large, The Sports Business Daily

Coors has displaced longtime NFL beer barons Anheuser-Busch and Miller as the league's official and exclusive beer sponsor in a deal to be announced today. Despite earlier reports, NFL sources confirmed Wednesday that the deal is a four-year agreement, not a five-year deal, with an additional one-year option at the league's discretion. Coors is paying an average of $15M per year rights fees over the life of the agreement and has guaranteed the league $25M a year in NFL themed promotional spending. Coors will also underwrite many of the league's new marketing initiatives, with separate platforms being developed for the NFL Draft, training camp, Opening Weekend, Thanksgiving, the NFL playoffs, the Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl. Sources said the total commitment by Coors, including media and promotional spending, could total $300M over the life of the agreement.

The deal, certainly one of the largest sports sponsorship deals ever purchased, is a national package, meaning Coors gets NFL and Super Bowl marks, and the right to use all 32 NFL team marks collectively. Teams are now free to cut their own local beer deals and do local retail promotions for the first time, some of which will doubtless be with Coors - the No. 3 beer brand behind A-B and Miller. However, a number of NFL club marketers pointed out that A-B or Miller could attempt to steal Coors' thunder by stockpiling local NFL sponsorships, and one team marketer indicated this would be the likely course of action for A-B. Under the old structure, NFL teams could only sign deals with incumbent sponsors A-B and Miller. Club sources said individual team deals could be worth $500,000 to $1M each, depending on whether the club controlled pouring, signage and other local inventory at their home fields.

Meanwhile, sources familiar with the negotiations said the NFL received assurances that both A-B and Miller will continue to spend at high levels with the NFL's TV partners during game broadcasts. Miller was an NFL league sponsor for 18 years; A-B for the past 12 seasons.

See today's issue of The Daily for more on this story.


IBM LOGS ON TO STAR-STUDDED NBA READING EVENT

Clippers F Elton Brand, G Corey Maggette, F Darius Miles and G Quentin Richardson will join celebrities Frankie Muniz, Jerry O'Covnnell, Michael Rapaport and Matthew Lillard to unveil a reading center at the Echo Park Boys & Girls Club in L.A. at 2:30pm PT as part of the NBA's "Read to Achieve" program.  BRANDWEEK.com reported that league partner IBM will participate in the program, "donating PCs, software and other … products."  Learning centers will be rolled out in a total of eight NBA cities with IBM's assistance.  The NBA will provide books, furniture and fresh paint for the centers (BRANDWEEK.com, 3/26).


SEAHAWKS' NEW UNIFORMS TAKE FLIGHT AT NOON

The SEATTLE TIMES reports that the team's "official unveiling" of a uniform and helmet redesign "occurs at noon today," the team's first uniform alteration in 19 years.  The new gear, manufactured by Reebok, "won't be available to fans until late July.  The team will begin selling novelty items, including T-shirts and baseball caps Monday on its Web site" (SEATTLE TIMES, 3/27).  

View a photo of the Seahawks' updated uniforms.


QUICK CHANGE: SYRACUSE UNIV. WEARS THREE DIFERENT UNIFORMS

During last night's Syracuse Univ.-Univ. of SC men's NIT semi-final game, both teams began the game wearing white jerseys and shorts.  At 2:41 into the game, Syracuse changed into their orange game jerseys on the bench during a media timeout, which emitted a loud ovation from the MSG crowd.  After the intermission break, Syracuse came out wearing its full road uniforms (THE DAILY).  ESPN's Ron Franklin: "Both teams came here in white.  Well, Syracuse should have been the visiting team, which meant they should have brought their orange uniforms. ... They had to send a police escort with the manager back to the hotel, and now look at this.  A complete ensemble, all in orange" (ESPN, 3/26). 

Watch Syracuse make the change.


SAN ANTONIO PREPARES FOR NCAA WOMEN'S FINAL FOUR

The SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS reports that San Antonio welcomes the last two of the NCAA Women's Final Four teams, who are set to arrive today.  This year's women's Final Four "is expected to shatter attendance records for the games, which previously have been played in smaller arenas."  The previous attendance record for a Women's Final Four championship game was set in '96, when 23,291 fans watched in Charlotte.  The Alamodome holds 29,619 fans for basketball games (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 3/27).

The NCAA announced Tuesday evening that about 1,000 tickets to the previously sold-out games will go on sale today at the Alamodome box office (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 3/26).


A LIGHTER BUZZ

This week's issue of Sports Illustrated features a special report cover story entitled "The Death of a Fan," and has a picture of Brittanie Cecil, the 13-year-old girl who suffered a fatal injury after being hit by a puck (THE DAILY).

DAILY VARIETY reports, "A group of creditor banks is stripping Leo Kirch of his once-mighty empire, but the feisty 75-year-old media baron is battling to keep some of his company jewels, particularly World Cup soccer" (DAILY VARIETY, 3/27).

The N.Y. POST reports that Angels P Kevin Appier "is collecting farm subsidies for a 270-acre spread he owns in Kansas."  Appier has received "$4,042 in price supports and other agricultural assistance programs" since '96, including $629.67 this year.  Appier is in the middle of a $42M, four-year contract (N.Y. POST, 3/27).


TODAY'S EVENTS

USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team members Sheryl Swoopes, Chamique Holdsclaw, Natalie Williams and Tamika Catchings will host a "Basketball & Books" clinic at Hawthrone Elementary School in San Antonio at 1:30pm CT.  The USA team is in San Antonio preparing for the Women's World Championship in China in September (THE DAILY).

The T'Wolves Zoo Cru, which consists of backup Gs Felipe Lopez and Anthony Peeler, F Sam Mitchell and C Loren Woods, will hold a Reading Time Out, part of the "Read to Achieve" program, for 200 elementary school students at the Target Center.  The interactive event, which includes a presentation by the MN Zoomobile, begins at 1:00pm CT (THE DAILY).


IN OTHER NEWS….

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that AOL Time Warner "did not award cash bonuses to its executives last year."  According to AOL Time Warner's annual proxy filing with the SEC, the company "chose to reward executives' performance with stock options in an effort to link compensation to improvements in financial and operational performance" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 3/27).  The N.Y. TIMES reports that AOL Time Warner top execs "reaped more than $250 million from the exercise of stock options" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/27).

Broadcast execs were told Tuesday at the annual TVB Marketing Conference in N.Y. that the television ad climate "will make only a modest comeback this year," with some areas still flat from a year ago.  Viacom President & COO Mel Karmazin: "We're currently seeing pricing for television in the second quarter up double digits.  That's not great pricing, but it's better than [last summer's] upfront" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 3/27).

Media Industry Newsletter (MIN) finds that Jennifer Aniston "packed magic on the newsstands" this past year, leading to best-selling issues for Elle, Redbook and Ladies Home Journal when the actress was featured on the cover.  According to MIN, Drew Barrymore was "the worst-selling cover for both teen title YM and Biography," while Cate Blanchette "did nothing for In Style and W" (N.Y. POST, 3/27).


FINAL JEOPARDY QUESTION

Last night's "Final Jeopardy!" category was "Food & Drink."

"From a flowering plant, the Aztecs used it as a chocolate enhancer and the Spanish called it this, meaning 'pod.'"


LAUGH TRACK

NBC's Jay Leno, on poor ratings for ABC's Oscar broadcast: "ABC said [Tuesday] that next year, they're thinking of boosting the Oscar ratings by having the nominees fight Tonya Harding and Danny Bonaduce."  Leno, on NBC deciding not to air hard liquor ads: "The only time you're going to see hard liquor at NBC will be next year, when the ratings come in for our new arena football."  Leno, on ABC's new show "The Bachelor": "(The bachelor) says family is very important to him, and he's looking for someone to be his soul mate.  Oh shut up!  The first women he kicked out?  The doctor, the lawyer, the neural psychologist.  Who stayed?  The NBA cheerleader and the Hooters waitress" ("Tonight Show," NBC, 3/26).

Last night's "Top Ten" list was "Top Ten Things Best Supporting Actor Jim Broadbent Did Today" ("Late Show," CBS, 3/26).  View a clip of last night's "Top Ten" list.

10)

"Signed autographs for people who thought he was Dick Cheney." 

9)

"Asked phone company to check his line, because no one's called all day." 

8)

"Appeared on 'The Today Show' in crowd outside the studio window." 

7)

"Got caught speeding, told cop who he was, still got a $100 ticket." 

6)

"Tried to figure out how Ian McKellen's room key ended up in his pocket." 

5)

"Purchased baseball cap and sunglasses, so he can go out in public without getting sunburned."

4)

"Placed Academy Award on top of garbage cans to keep out the raccoons." 

3)

"Sat around on his Academy Award-winning ass." 

2)

"Got footprints immortalized in cement after accidentally walking through a construction site."

1)

"Spent all day 'buffing his Academy Award.'"


TUESDAY NIGHT'S TV MONITOR

ESPN's 11:30pm ET "SportsCenter" led with Clippers-Kings.


FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER

"What is vanilla?"


If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com

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