Honda to back skating special

TWI, the television unit of sports marketing giant IMG, has signed Honda to be the title sponsor of "Kristi Yamaguchi's A Golden Moment," a one-hour figure skating special airing on CBS at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 24.

The show is scheduled to be taped Oct. 21 at The Arena at Oakland. Former Olympic gold medalist and current IMG client Yamaguchi, together with other Olympic gold medalists such as Brian Boitano, Ekaterina Gordeeva and Scott Hamilton, will skate to live music. Plans call for a 40-piece orchestra to accompany vocalists.

As part of its title sponsorship, Honda will get five 30-second spots on the TV special, said Bob Horowitz, senior vice president of TWI. Horowitz said TWI also will help sell some of the show's advertising time.

In a deal with CBS, TWI bought programming time to air "A Golden Moment," which is slated to receive promotion on the network's Thanksgiving Day NFL broadcast.

The figure skating event will help support the fight against breast cancer. Yamaguchi's Always Dream Foundation has teamed with the Susan G. Komen Foundation to create a "Golden Moment" fund, which will match public donations dollar for dollar up to $400,000.