TNT looking at no commercial breaks in 2007? UPDATE Pepsi 400 only?:

[kelloggs5TLfan]

TNT looking at no commercial breaks in 2007? UPDATE Pepsi 400 only?: Sports Business Journal reports that TNT is floating a package to potential advertisers that would allow advertising during the race broadcast and eliminate commercial breaks. The advertising would take place on the screen during the broadcast and allow continuous race coverage. TNT will broadcast six Nextel Cup races next summer. The story reports that officials from Turner and NASCAR would not comment. The story also reported that TNT's Cup ratings are down 8.3% from last season.(Roanoke Times)(10-18-2006)
UPDATE: hearing that the Pepsi 400 at Daytona will be shown with no commercials by TNT [in primetime] and the coverage will be sponsored by...Pepsi, but the other five races, as of now, will be shown with commercial breaks.(1-4-2007)

http://jayski.com/pages/media.htm

 

[buckaroo]

For us fans, this is great...but for advertising, it's not very good. Unless they come up with a great idea that will continually put the idea of a sponsor's product in the mind of the viewer while still watching the race, this won't last long. There is a reason for advertising and it isn't to bring something to the eye of the TV viewer. It's called selling a product. Let's hope the ad execs can come up with something that fills the bill and allows us to not miss a thing.

 

[Bucky Badger]

For us fans, this is great...but for advertising, it's not very good. Unless they come up with a great idea that will continually put the idea of a sponsor's product in the mind of the viewer while still watching the race, this won't last long. There is a reason for advertising and it isn't to bring something to the eye of the TV viewer. It's called selling a product. Let's hope the ad execs can come up with something that fills the bill and allows us to not miss a thing.

They will probably have annoying flashing ads or some hipnotic adds

www.miditrax.com/SelfHypnosis.htm

 

[barelypure]

I know why don't they put the Sponsor's names on the cars and then let the announcers talk about the Lowe's car or the Home Depot car or the Bud car while showing it on TV. They could move from car to car. Starting with the showing groups of cars and then individual cars at various points on the track during the race. That might work...

 

[buckaroo]

You do realize of course that they do that on the radio, along with the brand of gas, tires etc. I like that idea, but what about those ads that aren't part of a sponsorship on a car? And I'm afraid that there are going to be advertisers who insist they have a full screen, or at the very least, the majority of the screen. Once again, the reason to advertise is to sell a product and to do that, the product must have the attention of the buyer...unless they do it subliminally, which is against the law.

 

[talley]

All through the '90's we had a 10' satellite dish with both C & Ku analog capabilities and could find all of the practice, qualifying and racing (Winston Cup, Busch, Truck) on "cleen feeds" right from the track. Actually all racing back then was uplinked to satellite so we got to watch all kinds of US auto racing. Talk about being spoiled!! When Fox took over, they and everybody else went digital and scrambled - it would have ment an upgrade to a (?) Tannenberg 2.2 digital receiver costing about $4000. sold only to those with an FCC broadcast license.

But, having had that experience of watching commercial free I would gladly go the Pay Per View route and very willingly cough up $15./race to watch commercial free on TV again.

talley aka Judy

 

[kat2220]

TNT looking at no commercial breaks in 2007? UPDATE 2 Pepsi 400 to be 'branded': Sports Business Journal reports that TNT is floating a package to potential advertisers that would allow advertising during the race broadcast and eliminate commercial breaks. The advertising would take place on the screen during the broadcast and allow continuous race coverage. TNT will broadcast six Nextel Cup races next summer. The story reports that officials from Turner and NASCAR would not comment. The story also reported that TNT's Cup ratings are down 8.3% from last season.(Roanoke Times)(10-18-2006) UPDATE: hearing that the Pepsi 400 at Daytona will be shown with no commercials by TNT [in primetime] and the coverage will be sponsored by...Pepsi, but the other five races, as of now, will be shown with commercial breaks.(1-4-2007) UPDATE 2: TNT, for the prime-time July 7 Pepsi 400, wants to add some wrinkles. Trish Frohman, TNT executive vice president, hopes to enlist 12 advertisers — she says Pepsi, DirecTV and pain reliever 360 OTC are in — to air commercials, running up to two minutes, in about a quarter of the TV screen as race shots continue. Correction. Those "won't be commercials," says Frohman, but rather "branded content" that's "organic to the environment." Meaning, she says, that TNT's production staffers will work with advertisers to make ads — er, "content" — specifically for the race. TNT announcers, she says, will "absolutely" be "as engaged as anybody" in the effort. Which shouldn't surprise anybody. TV networks, paying millions or even billions for big-time TV rights, already seem like ad agencies for sports they cover. While Pepsi 400 coverage will still include local cable ads beyond TNT's purview, Frohman says the total time devoted to marketing messages will be less than normal NASCAR coverage.(USA Today)