Turner Sports has "sold out of commercial time" for the remainder of the NBA season, which restarts tomorrow in Orlando, according to Jeanine Poggi of AD AGE. Turner Sports CRO John Diament said that while the playoffs, which begin Aug. 17, are not yet sold out, "most regular season advertisers do end up buying commercial time in the playoffs, so he is confident that will also move quickly." Diament said that nearly 100% of the advertisers who had previously made commitments for NBA inventory before COVID-19 shut down the season "kept their money in place." Kia, American Express, Autotrader, AT&T and State Farm "will return, with the top spending categories including automotive, financial and business services, insurance, restaurants and fast food and telecom." Technology and endemic advertisers like sneakers and apparel also are "emerging categories compared with last year." If the NBA were to cancel the season, Diament said that Turner will "work with advertisers to offer them other sports or other programming inside the WarnerMedia portfolio" (ADAGE.com, 7/29).
