Turner Sports is selling the between-quarter commercial pods on its Monday night "Players Only" telecasts beginning Feb. 27 "to a single advertiser for an undetermined amount," according to John Ourand in this week's SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. State Farm has "signed on to sponsor one of the pods," which are between the first and second quarters and between the third and fourth quarters. Turner has "sold the breaks to other advertisers, including consumer product brands, but was not ready to identify them." The change, which will eliminate 12 traditional commercials out of the doubleheader, is "part of Turner's strategy to give its new Monday night game schedule a different look and feel than its highly rated Thursday night games." State Farm's deal includes "on-set signage and on-screen graphics." Kevin Garnett, who hosts the "Area 21" part of the broadcasts, will "incorporate the company's 'Right Combinations' slogan into the segment." Turner Exec VP/Sales & Property Partnerships Will Funk said that the Garnett segment's final 30 seconds "will be a State Farm commercial produced by Turner and feature the network's stars" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/20 issue). AD AGE's Anthony Crupi notes the superpods "provide TNT's NBA advertisers with a clutter-free chunk of real estate from which to market their products and services" (ADAGE.com, 2/20).
