From Ad Age
Review by Ryan Oliphant in SRM 435 (section 1)
On August 17, fox introduced its new national television network; Fox sports One (FS1) to audiences across the nation. The 24/7 sports network reached 90 million homes that Saturday. Reaching 90 million homes pleased many of the advertisers signing ad deals with the network. FS1 will carry advertising from blue-chip marketers in the auto, electronics, food & beverage and insurance categories. General Motors, Chrysler, Ford, Toyota, Microsoft, Samsung, Pepsi, State Farm, Geico, AT&T, Verizon, and Taco Bell are among the companies that will run advertisements on the sports network. Automotive companies so far are spending the most for advertising on the new station. Such companies include Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia and the Big-Three Detroit auto-makers, GM, Chrysler and Ford. Ford has long supported Fox’s broadcast network and will big a big partner once again with Fox’s new channel. The automotive company has agreed to sponsor the pregame show for FS1’s new Big East College Basketball coverage coming in the fall and they will run advertisements throughout the networks regular programing and broadcast schedule. FS1 will lack NFL games but Fox is strongly suggesting companies who purchase times for the NFL regular season as well as time in the Super Bowl too buy time on FS1 too.
What Fox is essentially trying to do is market their new Fox sports 1 channel to companies for ad space. To effectively market FS1 to companies for ad space they have to attract enough viewers and be on enough cable providers. The network must not only compete with the “World Wide Leader of Sports”, ESPN, for business but also NBC Sports, CBS Sports and other sporting networks. To compete with these other networks Fox has to really sell and promote their new channel not only to audiences across the nation but also to advertisers. The television network did a lot to promote the new FS1 by running commercials, internet ads, utilizing social media and sending emails to customers before the big launch on August 17. Besides the different PR initiatives, what will also make audiences aware of the new channel is the instantly recognizable on-air talent including Regis Philbin, former NFL quarterback Donavon McNabb, NBA great Gary Payton, and former tennis star Andy Roddick. With this array of on air talent and personalities, a massive PR campaign, and the rights to broadcast big time sporting events such as U.S. Open golf, World Cup soccer, UFC, and Major League Baseball Fox is very much on their way to attracting consumers to the new FS1. This will also help Fox Sports 1 become a more recognizable sports channel. All these factors appeal to advertisers. Fox recognized this and booked hundreds of millions of dollars in ad sales.
The cable company then had to find interested advertisers to be on board and help support the startup channel. They looked to marketers who had long supported Fox’s broadcast networks, such as Ford. Companies such as Microsoft and Samsung use sports to reach consumers so they as well purchased ad space on FS1. With the cable company reaching millions of homes, more blue-chip marketers than decided to market their brand on the channel. It was important that Fox Sports 1 reached 90 million viewers its opening weekend to convince companies that they made a wise advertising investment.
We had learned about promotion in class and more specifically the sport promotional mix. Fox with their new channel, Fox sports 1, used several promotional tools commonly used in sport to promote the 24/7 sports station. The company used infomercials throughout the summer to get consumers and marketers attention about the release of the new channel. They had several sales presentations, most recently Cynopsis Media’s Second Annual Sports Business Summit. The cable network then created a website to explain about the upcoming programing, introduce the new on air personalities, and inform the public and marketers about what to expect from the new channel. Fox then created a Facebook page and a Twitter account to promote the new channel and get attention.
Another significant concept from our class that we touched on is sales. Fox is trying to “sell” this channel to consumers, to have them buy into their programing and sporting events. They are then trying to sell this new channel to advertisers so they can buy ad space. One initiative that Fox is trying to do is sell Fox Sports 1 ad space with Fox’s ad space during the Super Bowl. The company is really trying to encompass more of an all-buy across the media group instead of having everything be separate. Fox’s new channel Fox Sports 1 is still fairly new, being aired about three weeks ago on August 17. The cable network will have to do a lot in regards to marketing, sales and promotion if they are to compete with the other sporting networks, including the giant, ESPN. By continuing to use promotional tools, selling ad space, and covering big time sporting events Fox could very well grow in popularity. They even one day could surpass the monopolistic ESPN.
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Review by Henry Bronez in SRM 435 (section 1)
Fox Sports Media Group unveiled a new channel, Fox Sports 1 (FS1) as a key competitor to ESPN and other network leaders in the sports broadcasting industry. FS1 was broadcasted in 90 million homes when it premiered in August, which is only slightly lower than the 100 million homes, that ESPN and its networks reach. Major enabling factors for Fox being able to introduce this channel are contracts Fox were able to sign with most major broadcast distributors and monetary support from marketing firms on Madison Avenue that were dependant on said contracts.
Fox Sports Media went down to the wire getting the distribution packages secured but in the end the network was able to obtain distribution deals with all major providers including Time Warner Cable, DirectTV, Dish, and others. These last minute deals are what enabled the new channel to air in those 90 million homes and is the key to being able to effectively compete with industry leading channels such as ESPN and ESPN2. Without these deals coming to fruition FS1 would only have been available in about half of the90 million households that were predicted to marketing firms when obtaining marketing deals and selling advertising prior to the initial broadcast.
The Fox Media Group wasted no time in selling advertising on the new channel. Somewhere in the “hundreds of millions” worth of advertising time was sold prior to FS1’s initial broadcast. The main purchaser of early advertising has been from the auto industry with both domestic and overseas auto-manufacturers purchasing significant advertising time. This is not unexpected, as Fox Media has maintained a strong working relationship with the auto industry in the past, particularly Ford Motors. Insurance companies as well as the food and beverage industry have also purchased advertising time on the channel, which bodes well for early success. Fox Media carries strong brand recognition as a network and without the support from previous advertising clients the success of FS1 during its first few weeks of broadcast would have been suspect.
One key shortfall of FS1 is the lack of its ability to broadcast games from the National Football League (NFL). However, Fox holds the broadcasting rights to this season’s Super Bowl XLVIII and has strongly encouraged those who have purchased Super Bowl advertising time to also invest in FS1. Although FS1 will not carry NFL games Fox Sports Media is using the new channel and promoting advertising as a complete package across several different mediums. Including but not limited to both broadcast and cable broadcasting and digital services in order to offer a more complete advertising portfolio. The media group is promoting Super Bowl advertising as a total buy-in of advertisement rather than simply buying advertising space between linked channels. This new approach may put off some companies who would rather buy time on specific channels to target particular audiences, although if the price of time does not increase dramatically the new strategy of a total marketing package may also gain appeal because it will enable companies to reach an audience across several different channels and mediums for an only marginally higher price.
This approach has the potential to send ripples through the sports and broadcast industries when it comes to buying and selling advertising. If the Fox Sports Media Group is successful with selling advertising as a complete package across an entire network rather than specific channels it may further increase the price of advertising time but also may pique the interest of the companies, teams and organizations wealthy enough to afford expensive air time. A complete network package of adverting is much more marketable as an effective use of company dollars than investing in a single specific channel. The possibilities of Fox’s attempt to create a complete marketing package as a single network is interesting and quite broad in how it may play out, but if successful it very well may be a game changer in how media advertising is bought and sold.
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