SBJ Media: NFL Net Using New Ad Format On Thursday

Hello from the Paley Center in New York, where I am attending a screening of the documentary “A Lifetime of Sundays,” which is co-executive produced by Michael Strahan and Jane Skinner Goodell.

NFL NETWORK GETS CREATIVE WITH AD FORMATS

Gatorade has bought two L-Wrap ads for this week's "TNF" telecast on NFL Network

• Viewers for tomorrow night’s Titans-Jaguars game on NFL Network will notice a new advertising format -- something league execs are calling an L-Wrap. One time each half, the network will squeeze back the picture and insert two borders with sponsor messages -- one on the top and one on the left side. The ad will run for six seconds and take the place of one regular commercial. Gatorade bought both L-Wraps for tomorrow’s game. 
  
  
• For the NFL, this is a way to ease the commercial load and speed up the game. NFL Net tested this format last season on its RedZone Channel and a handful of times during Weeks 15 and 16 games. NFL ad sales execs met with advertisers throughout the offseason to come up with ways to make the format more effective. “This is a format that really resonated with our advertisers,” said NFL Senior VP/Media Sales Brian Matthews. The ads should not run while the ball is in play, and they are not scheduled for a specific point in the game. If a team goes to a no-huddle offense, it likely won’t be used. “We’re trying to do it in moderation,” Matthews said.
  
  
• For advertisers, this is the way for brands to break through the clutter. “You’re going to see more and more of this happening in sports,” said Optimum Sports President Tom McGovern, who reps Gatorade. McGovern said advertisers like Gatorade are looking for ways to get closer to the telecast without being intrusive. He said it’s important for networks to make these types of moves to preserve TV's commercial environment. “This creates opportunities for brands to present themselves inside a game and a broadcast in ways that help them stand out,” he said.

HOW DAVID LEVY TEAMED UP WITH JOE TSAI

• When I met caught up with former Turner boss David Levy in May, he said that he would take the summer off to travel and play golf before starting to look for new work. Earlier today, Levy officially was named CEO of the Nets and Barclays Center and President of the sports investment holding company J Tsai Sports. I asked Levy how someone with 30 years of media experience decided to take a job running an NBA team and an arena:
  
  
  • Levy spoke of a deal he signed with the National Lacrosse League in the spring of 2018 when he wanted to use the league's games for Turner’s B/R Live streaming service. Nets owner Joe Tsai also owns an NLL team -- the San Diego Seals. Soon after the deal was signed, Levy met Tsai for the first time when he gave a presentation to the NLL board, offering advice on the best way for the league to grow.
    
    
  • A few months later, Tsai asked Levy to speak at an off-site meeting in Miami. Robert Kraft and Peter Guber were the other speakers. When Levy left Turner this spring, he looked into trying to raise a private equity fund and approached Tsai. After a series of meetings, Tsai asked Levy if he wanted to run the Nets and become president of his investment holding company. 
    
    
  • Levy: “We built this new opportunity. It wasn’t an existing job. From my past experience, I love putting these pieces together. Now it gives me the opportunity to build out a sports and entertainment area within his family office and leverage the assets that we have here at the Barclays Center or the Nets.”

SPEED READS

• NEWS AT DEADLINE: AT&T is exploring parting with DirecTV, according to sources cited by the Wall Street Journal. The question though is who would buy the company? Dish Network has to be considered the front runner.
   
• Troy Aikman discussed his recent tweet blasting Fox Sports co-worker Doug Gottlieb for questioning Andrew Luck’s decision to retire. Aikman, appearing on the "SI Media Podcast with Jimmy Traina, said: “I have great bosses, and I will tell you they were great in how they handled it. ... They were very direct with me and honest and I've always respected those kinds of people. They respected the fact that I was honest. They did not like that I would say something about the company. I understand that and I appreciate the way that they discussed it with me.”
  
  
• Vanity Fair has an excerpt of Bob Iger's new autobiography, and he had this to say of the potential of Apple buying Disney: “If Steve [Jobs] were still alive, we would have combined our companies, or at least discussed the possibility very seriously.”
  
  
• Quotes from Viacom CEO Bob Bakish about his confidence in keeping the NFL on CBS made the rounds yesterday. What struck me most were his reasons, such as suggesting that a Viacom-owned CBS will tweak its sales pitch during future rights negotiations. “CBS is largely speaking to older audiences,” Bakish told CNBC. “Viacom is younger audiences. Both linear and on demand, and younger audiences are important to bring into the brand from a long-term perspective. The second thing Viacom brings is reach outside of the United States. That also is critical to long-term brand development.”

• SBJ's John Aceti gave readers a glimpse at a day in the life of Fox Sports' Skip Bayless. Love him or hate him, Bayless is up at 2:00am Monday-Friday, and still watches some ESPN highlights.
  
  
• New data from Sensor Tower shows DAZN was the top sports app by revenue in the first half of 2019 on the App Store and Google Play, climbing up one position from the previous year. ESPN "climbed five positions from last year" to No. 2 in worldwide revenue, followed by MLB At Bat and the NBA.
  
  
• There were plenty of bold-faced names walking the red carpet at the Paley Center tonight prior to a screening of the NFL documentary “A Lifetime of Sundays,” including Bill Cowher, Hannah Storm, Mike Golic, Gary Bettman, Michael Strahan, Mark Lazarus, Pete Bevacqua, Fred Gaudelli, Brian Rolapp, Maryann Turcke, Trey Wingo, Adam Schefter and Sam Flood.

Roger Goodell chatted with Keegan Michael Key on the red carpet; Bob Kraft took pics with Jane Skinner Goodell

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Something on the Media beat catch your eye? Tell us about it. Reach out to either me (jourand@sportsbusinessjournal.com) or Austin Karp (akarp@sportsbusinessdaily.com) and we'll share the best of it. Also contributing to this newsletter is Thomas Leary (tleary@sportsbusinessdaily.com).