The FINANCIAL -- For the NBA, after resolving its 149-day labor dispute last month, now comes the hard part: rounding up advertisers.
Mark Tatum, the National Basketball Association's executive vice president of global marketing partnerships, said the league didn't lose one partner because of the NBA owners' lockout, which lasted from July to November and shortened the 2011-12 season—which now tips off on Christmas Day—from 82 games to 66.As part of the new agreements, Gatorade will have NBA advertising in Brazil, Italy and the U.K.
AutoTrader will continue to be the presenting partner of pregame coverage by TNT channel and NBA TV.
Anheuser-Busch will develop NBA-themed advertising and host fan events throughout the year.
Brad Brown, Anheuser-Busch's senior director of sports and entertainment marketing, said the absence of games in the season's first two months had little impact on the company's relationship with the NBA, especially with its large amount of fall properties, like football. Mr. Brown also said the NBA's new labor agreement, which will make more franchises financially viable, will help the company because teams will have "long-term stability" and will be better positioned for advertisers.
For advertiser and media companies, the NBA's return is welcome news. Last year, corporate America spent $807.2 million on ads that ran during NBA match-ups on networks such as Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN and Time Warner Inc.'s Turner Broadcasting, according to WPP PLC's Kantar Media. Sponsors who aren't league partners still buy plenty of television air time.
The prolonged lockout could have some fallout on advertising sales. NBA ad sales are now starting to heat up, but they come as the fourth-quarter ad market loses steam, according to ad buyers.One major advertiser said that even though it is happy the lockout is over, it will "certainly not pay full price" for ad time.
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