Second-screen usage overstated? NASCAR to open talks with ESPN, Turner ESPN near deal to keep Little League Soccer portal Goal.com gets makeover Dupriest shares take on media landscape Networks cry foul at NFL-Verizon deal Houston numbers affect carriage battles Market shift rocks digital strategy Mandalay TV show based on writer NASCAR on Fox ratings level off
Upcoming Conferences and Events
SBJ/September 19-25, 2011/Media
MLB postseason near ad sellout
Published September 19, 2011, Page 4
TV networks are continuing to ride the auto category to unprecedented ad sales success around sports programming.
Virtually no ad time remains for the first four games of the ALCS and World Series on Fox, network executives say. Some ad time is available in later games, if they need to be played. Network executives say they approach every MLB postseason this way and don’t expect any problems selling that time.
Chevrolet is sponsoring the pregame and postgame shows on Fox. With the ALCS this year, Fox is in line to carry the highly rated Red Sox-Yankees series if both teams advance to the championship series.
“Like last year, the marketplace for postseason baseball is strong,” said Neil Mulcahy, Fox’s executive vice president of sports sales. “We’re pacing ahead of where we were a year ago and we’re
seeing increased interest from several important categories.”
Turner said it achieved near sellout levels last week for its ALDS, NLDS and NLCS games on TBS. It still has ad spots available in later “if necessary” games and online. It, too, is pacing well ahead of last year.
“We’ve seen a strong demand from the auto business,” said Jon Diament, Turner’s executive vice president of ad sales and marketing. “You’ll see a lot of auto commercials with us.”
Turner sold a sponsorship package to Audi, which is a new advertiser. The package will see Audi sponsor vignettes around the “Achieving Greatness” theme.
It also signed Dodge/Chrysler to sponsor the pregame show “On Deck.”
TBS also signed Captain Morgan to sponsor the postgame show “Inside the MLB.” The show also will be available online via Yahoo! Sports (www.sports.yahoo.com/mlb).
Diament would not speculate about whether MLB attracted some advertisers concerned about the NFL’s lockout. “The key factor is that these dollars are fourth-quarter dollars,” he said.
Return to top
TBS sponsorship snapshot
■ Captain Morgan “Inside the MLB” postgame show
■ Allstate “Behind the Mic”
■ Bank of America “Game Break”
■ Capital One “Presenting Sponsors of the NLCS”
■ Dodge/Chrysler “On Deck” pregame Show
■ Liberty Mutual “Pitching Comparison”
■ State Farm “State of the Game”
■ Travelers “Mid-Game Recap”
Source: Turner Sports
Fox and Turner have sold out most of their postseason baseball inventory at rates more than 10 percent higher than last year. As with other sports events on TV, both networks say autos represent their strongest category.■ Captain Morgan “Inside the MLB” postgame show
■ Allstate “Behind the Mic”
■ Bank of America “Game Break”
■ Capital One “Presenting Sponsors of the NLCS”
■ Dodge/Chrysler “On Deck” pregame Show
■ Liberty Mutual “Pitching Comparison”
■ State Farm “State of the Game”
■ Travelers “Mid-Game Recap”
Source: Turner Sports
Virtually no ad time remains for the first four games of the ALCS and World Series on Fox, network executives say. Some ad time is available in later games, if they need to be played. Network executives say they approach every MLB postseason this way and don’t expect any problems selling that time.
Chevrolet is sponsoring the pregame and postgame shows on Fox. With the ALCS this year, Fox is in line to carry the highly rated Red Sox-Yankees series if both teams advance to the championship series.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Turner said it achieved near sellout levels last week for its ALDS, NLDS and NLCS games on TBS. It still has ad spots available in later “if necessary” games and online. It, too, is pacing well ahead of last year.
“We’ve seen a strong demand from the auto business,” said Jon Diament, Turner’s executive vice president of ad sales and marketing. “You’ll see a lot of auto commercials with us.”
Turner sold a sponsorship package to Audi, which is a new advertiser. The package will see Audi sponsor vignettes around the “Achieving Greatness” theme.
It also signed Dodge/Chrysler to sponsor the pregame show “On Deck.”
TBS also signed Captain Morgan to sponsor the postgame show “Inside the MLB.” The show also will be available online via Yahoo! Sports (www.sports.yahoo.com/mlb).
Diament would not speculate about whether MLB attracted some advertisers concerned about the NFL’s lockout. “The key factor is that these dollars are fourth-quarter dollars,” he said.
