The ad sales people in TV sports divisions might just be wondering what Alan Greenspan can do for them. Mirroring the downturn in the U.S. economy, which Greenspan's Federal Reserve has tried to spur by cutting interest rates, it hasn't been easy to sell commercial time in television these days. "Overall, the ad market is soft. Demand is weak across the board and the lesser sports are suffering in the same fashion as the major properties," former CBS Sports president Neal Pilson, a consultant, said Thursday. "Right now the networks are not selling out for sports. They are faced with either reducing prices or returning ad space to affiliate stations for sale." A recent tit-for-tat exchange between two major networks is indicative of the current climate. Fox Sports fired the first salvo with a series of print ads this month comparing TV ratings among certain demographic groups for the World Series with those for the Olympics. Fox owns exclusive rights to postseason baseball for the next six years under a $2.5 billion contract; NBC is paying $3.5 billion for the U.S. rights to the Olympics from 2000 to 2008. With help from some nifty graphics work, Fox's ads show players from the Yankees and Mets, last year's World Series teams, participating in Olympic pursuits while wearing baseball uniforms: Roger Clemens in a bobsled, Mike Piazza (in full catching regalia) clearing a hurdle, Al Leiter on gymnastic rings. The accompanying copy, aimed at potential sponsors, cites varying statistics to support claims that more men and more upscale viewers watched the World Series than the Sydney Olympics in 2000. The World Series averaged a 12.4 national rating, the lowest ever. The Sydney Games averaged a 13.8 between 7 p.m. and midnight, the worst ratings for an Olympics since the 1960s. (Each ratings point represents a little more than 1 million TV homes.) One sample from a Fox ad: "You might be surprised to know that Fox's 2000 Yankees-Mets World Series actually beat NBC's prime-time Sydney coverage last fall in every key Male demo. ... That's reminiscent of 1992 when the USA played Angola in Men's Basketball - not pretty." NBC didn't exactly turn the other cheek - a full-page in national editions of The New York Times on Wednesday matched Fox for wit ("It is a response," NBC Sports VP Kevin Sullivan said). Two lines atop the page read, "Below is an extensive list of television events that attract more viewers than the Olympics." What followed? A blank page, of course, with the tagline: "Nothing beats the Olympics." Tiny print at the bottom of the page explained the claim, which boils down to this sort of math: Over the course of its 441 hours on NBC and two cable channels, the Olympics were seen by 185 million people; over the course of about four hours on CBS, the 2001 Super Bowl was seen by 131.2 million people. Fair comparison? You be the judge. Public pettiness aside, the networks' pitches come when advertising types are congregating in New York for the releases of schedules for the new TV season, and when upfront sales of commercial time takes place. NBC's ad sales for the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics are just short of 70 percent of inventory, slightly behind where they were at the equivalent date ahead of the Sydney Games. "Compared to Atlanta (in 1996) and Sydney, this is in the ballpark, give or take a percent," Sullivan said. Whatever the vagaries of the economy, though, big-ticket events probably will be worth the millions invested by networks, particularly when side benefits like promotions for other programs are factored in. "The advertising market place has experienced softness back to the fourth quarter of 2000," said Ed Erhardt, president of sales for ESPN and ABC Sports. "The big-event kind of product, depending on what it is, holds up pretty well, though, because there is the desire to have reach and reach with impact," he added, "and sports remains one of the few places where you can find large audiences." His networks have countered the slower economy, which has led companies to trim advertising budgets, by packaging sponsorship deals on TV along with Internet and magazine ads. But back to the petty propaganda from Fox and NBC for a moment. It's all a bit silly, given that plenty the advertising dollars that are out there will gravitate toward major events like the World Series and Olympics. And besides, those tend to attract vastly different audiences. "These are the big boys kind of swatting each other with pillows," Pilson said. "I don't think either network has anything to be concerned about in terms of sales of postseason baseball versus sales of Olympics." "You don't buy the Olympics for the male demographics and you don't buy baseball for female demos."
NBC wrapped up the third week of May sweeps with its strongest Wednesday victory in more than nine years, led by the highest-rated one-hour "West Wing" ever and the most-watched episode in the 11-year history of "Law & Order." According to Nielsen, NBC topped second place Fox by 46% in the coveted adults 18-49 demographic on the night (7.0 rating, 19 share vs. 4.8/13) for its widest margin of victory with regular programming since January 1992. And in total viewers, NBC's 8.5 million person-advantage over second-place ABC is its largest on a Wednesday since at least the advent of Nielsen's People Meters in 1987. Compared with the same May sweep night a year ago, NBC was up 49% in the demo and 36% in viewers. The big night has helped NBC expand its lead for the month in adults 18-49, taking a 14% advantage over Fox into the final seven nights. NBC is well on its way to a seventh straight May sweep crown by that measure. After a solid second-place finish at 8 p.m. for "Ed" (4.0/12 in adults 18-49), "The West Wing" followed with its second best ratings ever (20.72 million, 7.9/19 in adults 18-49) -- behind only its two-hour season premiere last October. Compared with its first season finale last May, "Wing" was up a boffo 84% in adults 18-49 and 56% in total viewers. And at 10, "Law & Order" hit an all-time high in both total viewers (21.55 million) and adults 18-49 (9.2/24), winning its hour in the latter by 13 shares. Wednesday also saw a rebound for Fox's "Boot Camp," season highs for the WB's "Dawson's Creek" and more disappointing numbers for CBS miniseries "Blonde." "Boot Camp" enlisted its best ratings in three weeks (10.39 million, 5.1/12 in adults 18-49), returning to a solid second in the demo and first place in adults 18-34 (6.2/16). That helped give Fox the night by a tick over NBC in 18-34 (5.4/16 vs. 5.4/13). Fox's 8 p.m. comedies gave "Boot" a boost by winning their half-hours in adults 18-49 and younger demos, with both a repeat of "That '70s Show" (4.6/15) and an original "Grounded for Life" (4.4/13) logging their best scores in 11 weeks. The graduation episode of "Dawson's Creek" hit season highs in viewers (5.45 million), persons 12-34 (4.1/14) and women 18-49 (3.9/11), among other demos. It won its hour by 3 shares in women 18-34 (5.7/17). For the sweep, the WB is up 23% in women 18-34 vs. a year ago. ABC had a rather uneventful night, although a special episode of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" (13.44 million, 4.3/11 in adults 18-49) logged solid numbers opposite "Law & Order." CBS was fourth in viewers and adults 18-49 (2.7/7) as its Marilyn Monroe miniseries "Blonde" (8.79 million, 2.8/7 in adults 18-49) fell by about 23% from its mediocre Sunday opener. The penultimate episode of UPN's "Star Trek: Voyager" (5.55 million, 2.9/7 in adults 18-49) grabbed the series' top marks in 11 weeks. Through 21 nights of the four-week May sweep, standings in adults 18-49 are: NBC, 4.8 rating/14 share (down 8% in rating vs. a year ago); Fox, 4.2/12 (up 2%); CBS, 4.1/12 (up 17%); ABC, 3.9/11 (down 29%); the WB, 1.7/5 (up 21%); and UPN, 1.6/5 (down 6%). (Each adults 18-49 rating point represents 1.24 million viewers, 1% of the U.S. total. A share is the same sort of percentage, except it's measured against only the homes or viewers watching TV during the time slot involved.) In total viewers: CBS, 12.94 million (up 9% vs. a year ago); NBC, 11.70 million (down 4%); ABC, 10.80 million (down 30%); Fox, 8.71 million (up 4%); the WB, 3.70 million (up 8%); and UPN, 3.66 million (down 9%). NBC leads CBS by 14% in adults 25-54 (5.6/15 vs. 4.9/13) while Fox has a 7% advantage over NBC in adults 18-34 (4.4/14 vs. 4.1/13). - Reuters/Variety
Every week brings a myriad of ad campaign and website launches and it's nearly impossible to keep up with them all. If you missed a few, here are some the major launches of the week that was, and the week that will be. Miller Lite drinkers will soon get a chance to star in their very own Miller Lite commercial series. The "Miller Lite Lens," is a new Miller Lite reality TV program that will visit bars in five Texas markets throughout June and July. "The Lens" film crews will visit popular bars and clubs in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Austin and Rio Grande Valley areas and will conduct screen tests for Miller Lite drinkers 25 and older. In each market, selected consumers will appear in a television spot, with one consumer in each market being selected to star in the series of final spots. For the final series of spots, the "Miller Lite Lens" crew will follow the winning consumer and his or her friends for a night on the town. A series of four 30-second television commercials will be created from the footage filmed that night. There will be a separate consumer featured in each of the five markets. In other beverage news, Luminant Worldwide Corporation, a provider of technology-enabled business solutions, has completed two projects, both online promotions, in an ongoing client relationship with Dr Pepper. Dr Pepper Rocks! is a summer music promotion targeted to reach 18-to-24- year-olds that has Dr Pepper partnering with Rollingstone.com from May through July to offer visitors a chance to win prizes, concert tickets of any musical genre and free MP3 downloads. Luminant managed and directed the project that was built by Rollingstone.com. The second promotion is a partnership between Dr Pepper and the Latin GRAMMY Awards. Titled Suena y Gana con Dr Pepper (Dream and Win with Dr Pepper). The summer promotion offers consumers the opportunity to mail in entry forms or use a special game piece access code and toll-free number, to determine if they've won prizes including a trip to the Latin GRAMMY Awards in Los Angeles. DASANI bottled water, on Monday, May 21, will introduce four new television spots showcasing the classic funk bands Earth, Wind & Fire, The Gap Band, The Commodores and the old school rap group, Sugar Hill Gang, each performing a popular hit song from the late '70s and early '80s. The DASANI "Treat Yourself Well. Everyday" campaign is based on the premise that every great hero deserves a theme song. In each :30 second spot, both DASANI and the main characters are the heroes of the ads. Theme music follows the lead characters wherever they go and helps to project their vitality and natural radiance. As the story unfolds, viewers see that a live band -- in full concert attire is actually playing this "theme" music. Hachette Filipacchi Magazines has announced a collaboration with Alloy Online, Inc., a leading teen-focused media and direct marketing company, to develop editorial content and technology for ELLEgirl.com, a global style magazine for 21st century teens. Combining the strengths of the latest extension of the fashion magazine and the teen interactive space, ELLEgirl.com will launch the first international online destination for fashion and beauty targeted to teens. The site builds on the global success of ELLE, and is designed to complement the soon-to-be introduced ELLE Girl magazine. Keeping the theme of teens in mind, beginning this summer, Icon Transglobal Corp., in cooperation with ix:Medialab, will begin a marketing campaign aimed at positioning TVX7.com as the premier entertainment choice for teens, and progressive adults. At the center of the campaign is a 944 Porsche Sponsorship Stock Car, which one person will win sometime next year. As a way to cross promote with other businesses, TVX7 is looking for sponsors to outfit the car with enhancements, and in exchange for the enhancement, the sponsor will get their logo on the car, and will be included in marketing and press materials. All-star shortstops Nomar Garciaparra of the Boston Red Sox, and Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees, are paired in new commercials from Fleet's advertising agency Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos that launch this week. The campaign consists of three :30 TV spots, and one :60 spot, touting FleetBoston Financial Corp.'s online offerings: Fleet HomeLink with Quick & Reilly for personal banking and investing, and Fleet OfficeLink for small business banking. The ads will run throughout Fleet's retail footprint in the Northeast and will be supported by out-of-home advertising in the New York and New Jersey markets. Next up to the plate is Fox Sports Net Bay Area. The cable home of the Oakland A's has partnered with Volvo Cars of North America for the "Volvo Grand Slam Inning." For the rest of the baseball season, A's fans will have an opportunity to drive home a brand new $24,000 Volvo S40. During each A's game telecast on Fox Sports Net Bay Area from May 16 through September 30, one fan will get a chance to win a Volvo S40 if the A's hit a grand slam in the 5th inning of the game. If the A's do not hit a grand slam, the contestant will win two tickets to an A's game. The fan will be selected in a random drawing before each game and announced before the 5th inning of the game. Staying with sports, Inter/Media Advertising has partnered with Pre-Paid Legal Services and NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton for the national rollout of a multi-million-dollar short-form ad campaign designed to boost marketing of business opportunities presented by Pre-Paid Legal Services. The direct response campaign features 30, 60 and 120-second commercials airing on national cable networks and in broadcast syndication. They were created by Inter/Media and produced by the company's production arm, Inter/Image. 7-Eleven, Inc. and AT&T have teamed with the White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance to remind Americans about the true meaning of Memorial Day. The campaign, Calling America's Heroes, starts on Memorial Day, Monday, May 28, at 7 a.m., when up to 5,600 participating 7-Eleven stores across the country will distribute free AT&T phone cards, each with up to 15-minutes of domestic calling, valued at about $2 million. The prepaid cards will be provided to the first 100 veterans, active military personnel and/or immediate family members of military service personnel who request them at participating 7-Eleven stores, with no purchase necessary. Complimentary educational literature about Memorial Day will be available in the stores through the holiday. Select stores will feature local war heroes, visits from elected officials, and area celebrities to help spread the word about the Calling America's Heroes campaign. CMP Media's Electronics Group has launched iApplianceWeb, a comprehensive website dedicated to the emergence of networked and mobile information devices. iApplianceWeb (http://www.iapplianceweb.com) will deliver in-depth features, news and industry commentary on the technologies, companies and applications leading this growing market. iApplianceWeb is the newest community of the EDTN Network and is produced in partnership with Appliance-Lab of Austin, TX. The business of broadband, multiservice networking is simplified in a new multi-media advertising campaign launching from ADC Telecommunications this week. The multi-million-dollar effort targets communications service providers with a strategic combination of media to heighten the ADC brand profile nationally, while simultaneously driving messaging directly to individual high potential customer markets. The ad campaign follows the company's recent realignment of key operations, and the streamlining of its sales and marketing process to strengthen its focus on customer satisfaction and growth. It was created by national marketing communications agency Campbell Mithun. - Compiled by MediaPost staff writer Adam Bernard. He may be reached at Adambernard@mediapost.com or 203-222-0330 ext. 319
Rankings for the top 15 programs on basic cable networks as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of May 7-13. Each ratings point represents 1,022,000 households. Day and start time (EDT) are in parentheses. 1. "WWF Entertainment" (Monday, 10 p.m.), TNN, 3.6, 3.72 million homes. 2. "WWF Entertainment" (Monday, 9 p.m.), TNN, 3.6, 3.69 million homes. 3. Movie: "Sex, Lies & Obsession" (Monday, 9 p.m.), Lifetime, 2.6, 2.7 million homes. 4. NBA Playoffs: L.A. Lakers vs. Sacramento (Tuesday, 10:37 p.m.), TBS, 2.5, 2.52 million homes. 5. "Rugrats" (Sunday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.2, 2.25 million homes. 6. "Rugrats" (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.2, 2.24 million homes. 7. NBA Playoffs: L.A. Lakers vs. Sacramento (Friday, 10:44 p.m.), TNT, 2.2, 2.21 million homes. 8. "MTV's Hip-Hopera: Carmen" (Tuesday, 8 p.m.), MTV, 2.1, 2.19 million homes. 9. "Spongebob" (Sunday, 10 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.1, 2.18 million homes. 10. NBA Playoffs: Toronto vs. Philadelphia (Friday, 7:58 p.m.), TNT, 2.1, 2.18 million homes. 11. "Spongebob" (Saturday, 10 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.1, 2.17 million homes. 12. "Rugrats" (Sunday, 9 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.1, 2.15 million homes. 13. "Rugrats" (Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.1, 2.11 million homes. 14. "Rugrats" (Saturday, 9 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.1, 2.11 million homes. 15. NBA Playoffs: Milwaukee vs. Charlotte (Tuesday, 7:58 p.m.), TBS, 2.0, 2.06 million homes.