From the SportsBusiness Journal
Review by Phil Offman in KIN 435
TBS and Fox had no problems this year with selling out their ad space for the MLB postseason series. Fox and Turner Sports (TBS) has sold out their postseason inventory at a rate of more than 10 percent higher than in 2010 for the ALDS, NLDS and the NLCS. The only space left is if any of the series continue to the “if necessary” games where the networks anticipate no problem with selling the remaining space. As in the Postseason and most other major sporting events, the networks say the auto business represents their strongest sponsorship category. Chevrolet is sponsoring the pre and post game shows on Fox. Turner sold a sponsorship package to Audi where they will launch their “Achieving Greatness” theme. Dodge/ Chrysler is sponsoring the “On Deck” pregame show. Other sponsorships that Turner and Fox have given out are Captain Morgan, Allstate, Bank of America, Capital One, Liberty Mutual, State Farm and Travelers.
The NFL Lockout played a major role in Turner Sports and Fox gaining these sponsorships for the Postseason. With the NFL season left uncertain these companies had to make a choice to target the next biggest sporting event. Turner and Fox are making a smart decision with overloading their air space for the MLB Postseason. With teams like the Yankees and Phillies being in the playoffs, the ratings for the games will be up, giving the sponsorship companies a lot more exposure in bigger markets. The networks are planning their strategy around these big market teams going far through the playoffs. This isn’t the greatest way to market because of the chances that those teams do inevitably lose and ratings will surely drop. Both the TV networks hosting the game and the sponsorship companies will stand to mutually benefit from these deals.
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Review by Ria Chionchio in KIN 435
The article we chose was “MLB postseason near ad sellout.” It discusses the use of auto company’s by TV networks to increase sports programming ad sales. According to Neil Mulcahy, executive VP of Fox’s sports sales, the marketplace for postseason baseball is strong. More interests have been sparked in several important categories with the auto business being strongest in demand.
The majority of Fox and Turner’s postseason inventory has sold out at rates more than 10% higher than last year and all the ad time for the first four games of the ALCS and World Series on Fox are sold out. Chevrolet will be the sponsor of Fox’s pregame and postgame show and Fox will also be telecasting the Red Sox-Yankees series if both teams advance to the championship. I think that hosting such a highly anticipated game is a smart move by Fox because both teams have a large, highly supportive fan base and if marketed correctly could generate a lot of revenue for the network as well as their sponsors. The ALDS, NLDS, and NLCS games on TBS have also achieved near sellout levels and are also improving at a quicker pace than last years numbers.
With the abundance of auto sponsors you can be assured to see a lot of car commercials with both Fox and TBS. Fox signed a new sponsorship package with Audi around the “Achieving Greatness” theme. Turner will have Captain Morgan sponsor TBS’s postgame show “Inside the MLB,” and Dodge/Chrysler will be sponsoring the pregame show “On Deck.” Other sponsors include companies in the fast food, financial, electronics, and home improvement categories. Network executives say that almost every MLB postseason achieves sell out ad time on television during the World Series. More time will be added if there is a need for more games and there is usually no problems selling those spaces.
Thanks to John Ralston ('08) from Team Services, LLC in Maryland, for sharing this internship opportunity: Team Services Internship Description
Team Services is a highly experienced sales and marketing team specializing in developing and selling naming rights/premier sponsorships, and providing strategic consulting services for our clients.
From the SportsBusiness Journal
Review by Nick Daly in KIN 332 (Section 2)
This article focused on sports and entertainment marketing assets at a time when both of these worlds are affecting each other more than ever. It started off by discussing Pepsi sponsoring and endorsing the new hit television singing show “The X-Factor” on FOX. With this sixty-million dollar deal, Pepsi would receive product placements and specialized signage and ads throughout the show. In addition, Pepsi tried to bring in the “sports aspect” of this deal by offering the winning contestant a Super Bowl ad appearance to go along with the six million dollar record deal from Sony. This, in turn, created a mixture of Pepsi’s biggest sports and entertainment marketing assets. As Ryan Chinman, CEO of Platinum Rye put it, “Every sports property is looking for an entertainment overlay, and for their sponsors, if sports are the cake, they want entertainment to be the icing.”
The article then shifts towards the differences between sports and entertainment marketing. Entertainment content is generally cheaper and easier to acquire than top-flight sports content. In addition, sports provide an incredible television platform that music and entertainment just doesn’t have. However, music and entertainment do offer tremendous flexibility as well as powerful social media connections. The biggest actors and musicians of the entertainment industry are much more willing to do endorsements than sports stars (with the exception of a Derek Jeter or Peyton Manning), but most of these entertainment deals don’t come close to the biggest sports marketing deals and endorsements. All in all, marketers have the flexibility of the entertainment world countered by the comfort level and relative ease of the sports deals which are more structured.
In general, many marketers today feel that the sports and entertainment worlds are beginning to merge as one, as companies and brands feel they can make an impact and benefit their product most by catering to sports events and endorsements simultaneously with entertainment/music events and endorsements. This, they hope, will allow for deeper ties to pop culture.
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Review by Colleen McGurgan in KIN 332 (Section 2)
This article explains how companies want to get their brands involved with the sports industry along with the entertainment industry. The article goes on to talk about how Pepsi signed a deal with X-Factor to get ads, logos, and product placements throughout the show. This deal was not enough for Pepsi who then added an association with the NFL by offering the winner of the X-Factor a Super Bowl ad appearance. This is a prime example that shows how companies are trying to tap into both industries to make people more aware of their brand. In addition, the article mentions that actors and musicians are more willing to do endorsements than sports athletes but the largest entertainment endorsements do not even come close to endorsements within the sports industry. Finally, in the sports industry the schedule of events is known way ahead of time but in the entertainment world it is not as easy to know the schedule in advance therefore making it more difficult for companies to market their products.
The combining of the sports and entertainment industries when it comes to marketing can be very beneficial to interested companies. CEO of Pepsi Frank Cooper states, “When it’s a question of using a sports or entertainment platform, we ask ourselves which will have the greatest impact on popular culture. In this case the answer was sports and entertainment.” It will be interesting to see in the near future if the sports and entertainment worlds continue to grow closer of it they will go in separate directions.
