Just 2 weeks from opening day, and with the promise that both New York major league teams will be competitive (hopefully playoff bound), it is a good time to look at advertising opportunities.
The Met games will appear on WPIX on Sundays and mostly on SNY. The Yankees will appear on YES, while ESPN will carry its Sunday game of the week. SNY and YES can both be purchased for the entire network, or by cable system, locally through Time Warner, Cablevision, and FIOS.
Baseball is one of the hottest products on cable, with inventory already tight for the 2009 season. This is for good reason as the Mets and Yankees are certain to post the highest ratings on cable during the summer months, and in many cases, will beat broadcast network programming seen on Fox, ABC, NBC and CBS.
With such high ratings, the networks aren’t cheap and neither are the cable systems. However, you can purchase Mets or Yankees throughout LI for about $700 for an evening, primetime game. Fios for $75. For a single system you can purchase Cablevision Huntington for as little as $60 per spot.
One cost-effective option may be daytime baseball games. These games are discounted, but are excellent for targeting a daytime male viewing audience. For example, Cablevision rates are about 25% cheaper. PRMG clients have successfully advertised on sports, especially during the summer months. If you are going to be on tv during the summer, baseball and its loyal viewers is the place to be. For more information, contact johnzaher@theprmg.com.