NY Interconnect Gets Ready for an Advertising Slam Dunk

Much like football the viewers are treated to both college and pro flavors After the AllStar Weekend the NBA quickly takes a backseat to college conference championships and the NCAA National Collegiate Athletic Association men39s basketball tournament an annual rite for office bracket pools And the games provide advertisers with a predictable highly engaged audience except when there is a worldwide pandemicFor media sales groups like New York Interconnect NYI the cancellation of 2020 March Madness and the subsequent postponement of the NBA created the need for considerable recalibration when it came to their clients39 TV media plansIn fourth quarter 2019 the New York metro economy was strong and NYI was getting ready for a stellar season with an expanded list of participating cable systems and media providers The company was originally a venture between Altice USA and Comcast Communications but added CharterSpectrum and Verizon FiOS as well as other smaller systems in May 2018The group was looking forward to their first Final Four and Championship telecasts on TBS in 2020 All of New York was excited to have the East Regional finals taking place at Madison Square Garden Adam Shapiro Vice President of Regional Sales recalled quotWe ended 2019 on a really good run Auto advertising sales were strong and we were going into the first quarter of 2020 knowing we would have March Madness the Final Four and the Championship games Then in March 2020 things started to get canceled because of the pandemic As media professionals we had to figure out contingency plans across all lines of business in ways that would best serve each client This included everything from pulling back on certain campaigns to finding the right ways to keep brands visible and relevant as we awaited the return of normalcyquotSpring 2021 was a step closer to normal but the tournament was consolidated to just venues in Indiana Attendance was capped at 25 capacity and pipedin crowd noise did not replace the real thing Like baseball season and the Masters golf tournament March Madness heralds the coming of spring sunshine and hope After two long years are we finally here Are we back to normalAnticipation has been building for quite some time In 2010 CBS and Turner teamed up to form a 14year 108 billion deal with the NCAA Twothirds of all March Madness games are now on cable and as part of an alternateyear arrangement The Final Four and Championship games are delivered on TBS in the evennumbered years When NYI expanded to include Spectrum just after the 2018 tourney it had to wait almost two years for the valuable 2020 inventory to ripen only to watch it disappear as the pandemic wreaked havocMaking matters worse was the postponement of the NBA playoffs which predictably bring in at least 50 games occur almost every night and mostly are eastwest doubleheaders Now all that39s changed quotCome midFebruary if an advertiser wants any part of the New York market and they want the basketball audience we have it all and in a onestopshopquot said ShapiroThe 2021 National Football League NFL season demonstrated that the appetite for live games has returned and is very strong It39s not a coincidence the record audiences for the NFL playoffs coincided with the return of full venues Adding to the anticipation National Hockey League NHL games are now part of Turner39s lineup providing a promotional platform to drive audiences to both the NBA and college basketballIn addition to having access to exclusive inventory advertisers benefit from the utilization of NYI39s Audience One platform a datadriven multiscreen solution that allows clients to capture impressions through ondemand live streams apps websites and linear television to geotarget the country39s largest market And the options can all be packaged into a single transactionShapiro is excited about NYI39s prospects for basketball after having closed several big packages In addition to New York39s enthusiasm in general he said that all sporting events are enjoying even more interest than usual these days because of the recent legalization of sports betting in New York as well as Connecticut and New Jersey Even though sports betting ads do not run during March Madness fans are glued to their screens to see the games39 outcomesIn most markets it is often impossible for local advertisers to seize the larger audience that comes from the hot runs and standout performances By the time those elements are captured by advertisers it39s too late However the enormous size of the New York market allows brands to reduce that risk Brands are not dependent on just local universities such as St Johns Seton Hall and even Iona College coached by Rick Pitino There39s also strong alumni presence from universities further afield like Rutgers Syracuse UConn Michigan and Duke which has the added appeal of Coach Mike Krzyzewski39s final seasonWe just need all the games to go off like they did in 2019 and beforeClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

NY Interconnect Gets Ready for an Advertising Slam Dunk

Author

Publish date

Channel

Archived in

Robert DiGisi

"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

More Videos:

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

NY Interconnect Gets Ready for an Advertising Slam Dunk

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Robert DiGisi

Stay in the know with more from MediaVillage

TAGS:

"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

Cookies