The following is a continuation of Nielsen Sports Marketing Service's spotlight series on sponsorships. The first chart indicates the Top 20 sports advertisers ($000) in total expenditures during the first quarter of '97 (January-March), followed by the Top 10 national estimated expenditures by sport ($000) for the same period:
| TOP 20 LEADING SPORTS ADVERTISERS ($000) |
| COMPANY | TOTAL | | COMPANY | TOTAL |
| Anheuser-Busch | $54,958.90 | American Express | $18,969.50 |
| Chevrolet | 44315.5 | Dodge | 18879.1 |
| AT&T | 30706.1 | American Honda | 16963.9 |
| Nike | 28158.4 | Procter & Gamble | 16453.8 |
| PepsiCo | 23086.3 | Pizza Hut | 16166.9 |
| MCI | 21729.8 | Chrysler/Plymouth | 15232.4 |
| Miller | 21052 | Lotus Development | 14748.3 |
| Nissan | 20884.4 | Visa | 14256.5 |
| Ford | 20838.6 | Pontiac | 13109.9 |
| McDonald's | 20660.8 | M&M/Mars | 13075.8 |
| TOP 10 NATIONAL ESTIMATED EXPENDITURES BY SPORT $0 |
| SPORT | TOTAL | CABLE | NETWORK |
| College Basketball | $347,317.40 | $50,107.90 | $297,209.50 |
| NFL | 188890.1 | 1117 | 187773.1 |
| Sports Commentary | 127895.8 | 47661.6 | 80234.2 |
| NBA | 100779.8 | 16215 | 84564.8 |
| College Football | 80482.1 | 2601.7 | 77880.4 |
| Pro Golf | 67575.1 | 10466.3 | 57108.8 |
| Motor Sports | 50523.3 | 35274.7 | 15248.6 |
| Pro Football | 48148.2 | 1732.5 | 46415.7 |
| NHL | 35537.9 | 16630.3 | 18907.6 |
| Figure Skating | 31404.9 | 880.5 | 30524.4 |
