In K.C., Charles Gooch reports MLS Sporting KC "will be back on KSMO-TV this year and next after renewing" their deal with their local broadcast partner. All 28 MLS matches “that aren't part of a national broadcast will be carried live in high-definition.” Matches against the Dynamo on July 7 and the Impact on Sept. 22 “will be simulcast on KSMO's sister station and local CBS affiliate, KCTV-5.” KSMO-TV “will carry a 30-minute pre-game show prior to each Sporting Kansas City telecast." Play-by-play announcer Callum Williams and color-commentator Jake Yadrich “will return to the booth for the 2012 season” (K.C. STAR, 2/10).
TEN YEARS STRONG: MULTICHANNEL NEWS’ Mike Reynolds reports YES Network, currently “sporting a special logo to commemorate the occasion, will celebrate its 10th anniversary with an array of appropriately-themed programming and content” next month. The net will “integrate the logo into a variety of anniversary-themed content across all platforms.” The logo will appear “on-air within YES 10th-anniversary programming, including the network’s two-hour anniversary special that will be premiering next month, as well as a series of vignettes” (MULTICHANNEL.com, 2/10).
RESPONSE RATE: The NFL during the Super Bowl aired a 30-second spot for the $1M “NFL Perfect Challenge,” and fans responded to the ad’s text message call-to-action with more than 1.7 million texts. Nearly 90% of fans responding were new to the NFL.com Fantasy game. In addition, the game was the top non-sponsored trend on Twitter despite not using a hashtag campaign in the ad. The ad, produced by Grey Advertising, marked the first time the NFL launched a digital product with a Super Bowl spot (NFL).
LAST MAN STANDING: In L.A., Tom Hoffarth writes he received a “Special Appreciation” recognition at last week’s Southern California Sports Broadcasters awards lunch, as he is the “last newspaper guy in town still writing a weekly sports media column.” Hoffarth: “Maybe even more so than when I started doing this column more than 20 years ago, the media influences so many elements of sports today.” The money involved from media rights fees “is directly tied to why the Angels could afford to get [1B] Albert Pujols into their lineup, and why Frank McCourt thought he had one last card to play in his long-ranged plan to keep the Dodgers.” The business side of the media “can be covered in spot-news reporting, but it takes more of a commitment to do that” (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 2/10).
