CBS, Time Warner Promoting Mayweather-Pacquiao PPV Across Multiple Nets, Platforms

Saturday’s Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao fight will get a broad blast of promotional support on the networks and platforms of parent companies CBS and Time Warner this week. CBS, which had seven of the 10 most-watched shows last week, will have promos during primetime and late-night programming. Time Warner will have spots across its cable channels, including on reruns of “The Big Bang Theory” and “Family Guy” on TBS. The fight also will have promotion during primetime on other nets, including during ABC’s “Agents of SHIELD” and NBC’s “The Blacklist.” The placement is far broader than is typical for PPVs, when Showtime and HBO focus on sports programming. The fight also gets promotion during TNT’s coverage of the NBA Playoffs, which figure to be the most-watched sports programming of the week. Along with promos that have already started airing, there are features that TNT recorded in both fighter camps. TNT’s studio hosts also plan an interview with Mayweather that will air Thursday night. Showtime Sports Exec VP & GM Stephen Espinoza: “We certainly are going to have a very strong presence on the sports networks, in live sports, in terms of paid ads and editorial coverage. What we wanted to layer on top of that is the casual fan and the non fan. We reach them mostly through either big, mainstream network programming or strong, broad cable television programming. Strong performers among men and women, comedy and drama. This is much broader than any boxing event that I’ve seen marketed.” HBO Sports VP & GM Tammy Ross added, “We definitely have gone much more broadly as opposed to deeply in our marketing focus. ... People are going to be hearing about this in all different arenas. That captures the buy” (Bill King, Senior Writer).

FRIEND OR FOE? SI.com's Richard Deitsch wrote the face of ESPN’s Mayweather coverage "has been commentator Stephen A. Smith, who recently conducted a multi-part infomercial with the boxer off a seven-hour interview session." Given Smith is "more of a provocateur and pitchman than journalist these days, the final product wasn’t much of a surprise." Smith has "never been shy about highlighting his relationship with Mayweather, and this was clearly an access play, a friend interviewing a friend and a network benefiting from that access." ESPN got "cross-promotional pieces out of the interview." Deitsch: "But at what price?" Meanwhile, ESPN's "OTL" did a piece on Mayweather's domestic violence record that was "exceptionally well-done" (SI.com, 4/26).