Turner Sports’ Jon Diament Details March Madness Ad Sales Game Plan

For the second time under the partnership that now extends through 2032 and features the tourney teammates alternately presenting the marquee matches TBS will televise the Final Four and the title tilt this time from San Antonioamp8217s Alamodome on March 31 and April 2Diament said Turner and CBS retain inventory including a handful of spots in the top contests for those marketers that either want to secure a small schedule or augment their buys amp160The partners always look to capitalize on any marketers amp8220with lastminute needsamp8221Multiyear deals with NCAA Corporate Champions and Partners 18 at this juncture with a 19th expected to be announced this week gives the tournament a strong sales base yeartoyear with over 50 of the inventory tied to those sponsorship packages amp160Under their rights deal with the NCAA Turner and CBS manage this enterpriseThose pacts are amp8220baked in before we go to general marketamp8221 said Diament noting other business is written during the Upfronts for Turner and CBS as part of deals that sometimes extend to other programs and dayparts as well as in scatteramp160 Tournament revenue in 2017 improved to 128 billion according to estimates from Kantar Media a 32 increase from 124 billion for the 2016 eventTBS and CBS will each air 21 games while truTV televises 13 including the First Four from Dayton Ohio on March 13 and March 14 and TNT a dozen amp160Digitally NCAA March Madness Live the streaming suite of products developed by Turner Sports in conjunction with CBS and the NCAA will present live coverage of all 67 games across a record 16 platformsNow in their eighth year of working together the tournament teammates maintain a scorecard of sorts keeping abreast of client discussions strategies and pricing considerationsamp8220We make sure every deal is evaluated and we collaborate on any decisionamp8221 Diament explained amp160amp8220Our goal is to find the best marketing partners and if the pricing is solid that makes it a good deal for CBS and Turner amp160We want to do the right thing for the tournament in the long runamp8221Other advertisers have to buy in yeartoyear a disadvantage to clients when pricing rises amidst strong sports marketplacesamp160 The NCAA champions and partners have the added value of locking rates through multiyear packages and securing primary sponsorship positions within linear and digital offerings according to DiamentA case in point came during Turneramp8217s initial Selection Show on Sunday March 11 amp160Shot before a live audience in an Atlanta studio the telecast featured CBSamp8217 Greg Gumbel and Turneramp8217s Ernie Johnson taking turns alphabetically listing the groups of the automatic bids recipients conference champions before revealing the atlarge squads amp160Subsequently ATampampT presented the unveiling of the matchups in the South region Capital One for the East and CocaCola for the Midwest amp160The three NCAA Corporate Champions benefited from a joint promotional push ahead of the final bracket the WestPer usual Diament said automotive quickservice restaurants financial services insurance and studios are among the strongest categories in the 2018 version of March Madness Technology is also a big player particularly with Google Cloud joining Intel and Indeed at NCAA corporate sponsor levelamp160 For the first time the amp8220Capital One NCAA March Madness Bracket Challenge Gameamp8221 will provide personalized push notifications tied to live game coverage to help fans keep tabs on their bracket performanceThe game will also utilize Bracket IQ an artificial intelligence system powered by Google Cloud to provide data analytics on picks and bracket trends amp160The data which was referenced on the Selection Show will also be integrated onair throughout the tournamentIntel in its sophomore season with the tournament is expanding its virtual reality presentation to 21 games with coverage extending to every round before culminating with the Final Four and championship games amp160Diament said Intelamp8217s game plan including an ad tourney schedule for Intel True VR aims to bolster its brand position within the burgeoning VR categoryTaking a page from when CBS held the rights solely NCAAamp160March Madness Live will provide a digital version of amp8220whiparoundamp8221 coverage of the tournamentamp8217s busiest days on March 15 and 16 ATampampT and Lowes a corporate partner will present the new amp8220Fast Breakamp8221 feature that will take users from game to game with live lookins highlights social reaction and commentary Diament and other Turner executives expect this to be a popular component and boost total consumption as fans move to the game they find most compellingWhile March Madness Live is largely focused on streaming live game action Bleacher Report Turneramp8217s digital offering and CBS Sportscom are providing select branded content from corporate partners that are extensions to overall March Madness marketing efforts and sold as part of the tournament packageDiament said Bleacher Report which plays an integral role at Turner in attracting younger sports fans helped amplify interest in the selection show with a fourhour social media preshow on Sunday which also encompassed March Madness handles on YouTube Twitter Facebook and NCAAcomSocial efforts will continue throughout the tournament notably with Twitter viewing parties around the Final Four and championship gameSome 85 of tournament packages include schedules on both the linear telecasts and the digital offerings slightly above the 2017 level according to Diamentamp8220Sponsors want to take advantage of how many fans watch the tournament across the multiple platformsamp8221 he said noting that those engaging with March Madness Live tend to be little younger and more mobile with their media habitsClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160

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Turner Sports’ Jon Diament Details March Madness Ad Sales Game Plan

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