The Player's Tribune, which "has been ad-free for its first four months," is now "bringing on its first big sponsor" in German automaker Porsche, according to Michael McCarthy of ADWEEK. Former MLBer Derek Jeter's site is beginning its "move beyond its start-up phase and eyes everything from brand integration to native advertising." The site "can easily reach out to marketers who already work with the site's athlete-editors." Another "easy source of potential advertisers will be the deep bench of team and league sponsors." Jeter said, "We've gotten a lot of interest" (ADWEEK.com, 2/18). Meanwhile, in Newark, Ryan Hatch noted SiriusXM and The Players Tribune will "launch a weekly radio show to be broadcast nationally every Wednesday" at 7:00pm ET, and the program debuts tonight on XM's Mad Dog Sports Radio. The show "has no one host, instead a rotation that will speak with 'editors' or 'contributors' to the website," such as Seahawks QB Russell Wilson, Mets P Matt Harvey, Lakers G Kobe Bryant, and "of course Jeter himself" (NJ.com, 2/17).
DEREK & THE DOMINOS: Jeter said he will be "very involved" with the business side of his new media venture. Speaking to BLOOMBERG TV, Jeter said, "Involved in the business side, whether it's meeting with different companies or partnerships, with AOL and Legendary Pictures and the Blue Jeans Network, I enjoyed being behind the scenes and being given the opportunity to meet some strategic partners that are going to help us out." He said the biggest thing he has learned so far about running a business is "patience." Jeter: "I'm coming from a career where it's instant gratification or failure. In business, it takes a little time." Asked what entrepreneurs or CEOs he has turned for advice, he replied, "Indra Nooyi, the CEO of Pepsi. I've gotten close to her over the years. And she brought me out to Davos a couple of years ago and she really thrust me into the business scene and made me extremely uncomfortable." Jeter added, "Michael Jordan is like a big brother to me. And he's someone that has done -- has some similarities in terms of playing in the sports world and then going into team ownership, which one day, I'd like to do" ("In The Loop," Bloomberg TV, 2/17).
