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In-Depth

Networks make their pitch

Key sports ad inventory offered by networks

CBS Sports

The Pitch: It’s all about Super Bowl 50 for CBS, as the network sales staff tries to command a record-high $5

million per 30-second spot. “Thursday Night Football” played a big part in last year’s upfront and should remain a focus again this year.

Key inventory: Super Bowl 50, NFL’s AFC Sunday afternoon package, “Thursday Night Football,” SEC football, NCAA men’s basketball tournament, golf, tennis.

The sales team: Jo Ann Ross, president, network sales, CBS; John Bogusz, executive VP, sales and marketing, CBS Sports; Tony Taranto, senior VP, NFL, CBS; Chris Simko, senior VP, sales and marketing, CBS Sports; Bob Malmgren, senior VP, sales, CBS Sports.



Fox Sports Group

The Pitch: Not only is Fox Sports out in the market with its cable channels, Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2, but it

Photo by: Getty Images
also is pushing schedules around its digital and social offerings. “In the past, it was big rating for the NFL and, boom, it’s done. What advertisers are now looking for is how we create programs that start online,” said Fox’s Neil Mulcahy.

Key inventory: NFL’s NFC Sunday afternoon package, MLB, NASCAR, U.S. Open golf, women’s World Cup, college sports, the UFC.

The sales team: Toby Byrne, president, ad sales, Fox Networks Group; Neil Mulcahy, executive VP, Fox Sports ad sales.



ESPN

{podcast}

SBJ Podcast:
Media writer John Ourand and Executive Editor Abraham Madkour discuss the ad sales market and what its current "soft" status means for sports.

The Pitch: Expect to hear a lot about the “ESPN Impression” — the point that ESPN’s multiple platforms give it a broader reach. ESPN ad sales executives also will evangelize on the power of sports: it’s live and it commands the biggest same-day audiences.

Key inventory: “Monday Night Football,” MLB, NBA, College Football Playoff, golf and tennis majors, college sports.

The sales team: Ed Erhardt, president, global customer marketing and sales; Eric Johnson, executive VP, global multimedia sales; Patricia Betron, senior VP, multimedia sales; Wendell Scott, senior VP, multimedia sales.



NBC Sports Regional Networks

The Pitch: Comcast SportsNet has access to sports fans throughout the country through its eight regional sports

Photo by: Getty Images
networks.

Key inventory: Local MLB, NBA and NHL teams.

The sales team: Ray Warren, executive VP and chief revenue officer, Comcast Sports Group; David Fitzpatrick, VP, digital sales; Ramon Ramos, VP, marketing solutions.



Turner Sports

The Pitch: Get ready to hear about the number of postseason games Turner Sports carries in MLB, NBA and the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. “It’s more about games that really matter,” said Turner’s Jon Diament.

Key inventory: MLB, NBA, PGA, NCAA men’s basketball tournament, Top Rank boxing, Bleacher Report, NASCAR.com.

The sales team: Lenny Daniels, president of Turner Sports; Jon Diament, executive VP, ad sales and marketing.



Fox Sports Regional Networks

The Pitch: Through Home Team Sports, Fox Sports Regional Networks represents nearly every regional sports network in the country, offering ad sales inventory to thousands of local games in the country’s biggest markets.

Key inventory: Local MLB, NBA and NHL teams.

The sales team: Kyle Sherman, executive VP, national advertising sales, Home Team Sports; Craig Sloan, senior VP, national advertising sales, Home Team Sports.



NBC Sports Group

The Pitch: NBC Sports Group’s ad sales efforts will expand well beyond sports, pitching clients schedules that include non-sports NBCUniversal investments overall.

Key inventory: “Sunday Night Football,” NHL, the Olympics, NASCAR, EPL, horse racing’s Triple Crown and Ryder Cup.

The sales team: Seth Winter, executive VP, sales and marketing, NBC Sports Group; Lou Koskovolis, senior VP, NBC Sports sales and marketing; Paul Wilson, senior VP, NBC Olympic ad sales; Brian Nyemchek, senior VP, NBC Sports media sales.



Univision

The Pitch: Expect Univision executives to pitch the power of live (91 percent of Univision’s viewing is live);

Photo by: Getty Images
multiple platforms (16 channels, 128 TV and radio stations); and audience demos (young, upwardly mobile and tech-savvy Hispanic consumers). Univision’s ad sales team has more than 10,000 hours and 300 live games to sell.

■ Key inventory: Copa America Centenario, Gold Cup, U.S. and Mexican national soccer team matches, MLS.

The sales team: Keith Turner, president, ad sales and marketing; Steve Mandala, executive VP, advertising sales; Carlos Deschapelles, senior VP, sports sales.

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 18, 2024

Sports Business Awards nominees unveiled; NWSL's historic opening weekend and takeaways from CFP deal

ESPN’s Jay Bilas, BTN’s Meghan McKeown, and a deep dive into AppleTV+’s The Dynasty

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast from the New York Post and Sports Business Journal, ESPN’s Jay Bilas talks all things NCAA. Big Ten Network’s Meghan McKeown shares her insight into the Caitlin Clark craze. The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn chats all things Bean Town. And SBJ’s Xavier Hunter drops in to share his findings on how the NWSL is making a social media push.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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