March Madness is upon us and the stakes have never been higher for both the teams and their schools. NBA contracts are going through the roof and the NCAA Hoops Finals are beginning to have a carnival feel with all the hoopla and fast talk.
It has all been staged like a gigantic pageant with the Conference Playoff fading to Selection Sunday which segues into National Bracket Day on Monday. Round one action on Tuesday and Wednesday and then……get ready…..Round 2 will get started on Thursday afternoon and then we’re off. It’s March Madness for sure now.
The popularity of these annual contests has not been lost on big business nor has their value been overlooked by the networks which will be broadcasting the games.
This year a commercial spot during one of the top rated basketball games will rival the Super Bowl for cost per second.
A thirty second commercial spot during the first elimination rounds of the NCAA Basketball Tournament will cost an estimated $100,000….each. As the tournament progresses the cost of those same 30 seconds will likely escalate to over a million dollars per spot. The Final Four will surely see some pretty glitzy commercials during the breaks this time around.
As in the past, high end automobile companies will be the agencies purchasing these coveted spots once again this year. The luxury Japanese car Infiniti and Detroit’s Buick will be taking major positions as corporate partners.
Naturally, it’s all about the money. Media Week reports that CBS signed an 11- year, $6 Billion (yes, that is a B) deal for exclusive rights to broadcast the NCAA Tournament.
Turner Broadcasting formed an alliance with CBS Sports before last year’s deal ran out that netted them a 14 year deal with the NCAA for another $10.8 Billion.
Starting next season, tournament games will be shown on four networks: CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. All, except for CBS, are divisions of Time Warner subsidiary TBS.
Infiniti has come up with an ad campaign that could actually do some good for a change. It is based on fan participation to drive Infiniti’s donation of up to a half a million dollars to Coaches verses Cancer which is collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
So, fasten your seat beats and hold on tight. This year is going to be another good one!
