Wheels of Fortune: Versus' Tour de France Nets Bigger Ad Packages

Building on a vast improvement in ratings of a year ago, Versus hopes to gain more success for its Tour de France coverage, helped by the second appearance of Lance Armstrong's return from retirement.

Major returning advertisers for the three-week-long bike race include Michelob Ultra, in which Armstrong has made an appearance in the ads, as well as newly run creative from new Tour sponsor Radio Shack, which is a sponsor of Armstrong's team this season.

Armstrong has also been featured in Radio Shack creative in early season cycling races as its "chief mobility officer."

Per industry estimates, Versus is looking to grab some $10 million to $11 million in ad revenue for the three-week race -- up around 16% from a year ago. Major sponsors could be paying from $750,000 to $1 million for a leading media sponsorship package for the entire race; other packages could be as low as $250,000.

According to Kantar Media, Versus pulled in $9.5 million for the Tour de France race in 2009. This was way up from the $6.8 million in 2008 -- 34% -- mostly due to Armstrong's return. In 2007, Versus pulled in $5.5 million; in 2006, it was $5.1 million, according to estimates.

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Versus would not comment on any advertising details. But it did say --- in addition to Michelob Ultra -- that Cadillac, Nike and high-end bike manufacturers Cervelo and Specialized would be returning as advertisers.

In addition to RadioShack, Nissan Motors and clothing maker Izod would be added as new advertisers. Nissan is also a presenting sponsor of Armstrong's team.

Versus is again offering wall-to-wall coverage -- virtually taking up the network's entire daytime and nighttime schedule, including one main live multi-hour morning program, subsequent re-airs, as well as a separate prime-time show.

For the second year in the row, Versus will be offering "Tour Tracker" -- which is an in-depth, commercial-free Internet service -- for $29.95 a month. Viewers can follow riders' results and the race in real-time course maps -- in addition to watching Versus live streaming coverage online.

Viewers can also access an on-demand part of the site, allowing them to re-view portions of the race, as well as stop and rewind race coverage.

While advertisers will not have access to this exposure, Versus is offering media buys in other free areas on its site.

The network's ratings for the Tour de France virtually doubled in 2009 -- attributed to Armstrong's return.

 

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