Saturday, February 17, 2007

Financial Details on Sinclair Re-Transmission Deal


UPDATE: Discussed in depth in a previous post, Broadcast / Cable Re-Transmission Agreements: Why Should We Care?, the details of the re-transmission agreement between Sinclair Broadcasting Group and Time Warner Cable were not originally available.

As a publicly traded company, Sinclair Broadcasting Group has reported some of the details of their agreement with Time Warner in their earnings statement for 4th Quarter 2006.

Sinclair owns and/or operates 58 stations and has signed re-transmission agreement with 75% of the cable systems in their local markets. According to the
Baltimore Sun, Sinclair reported today that this will generate an additional $48 million in 2007 compared to the $25 million they earned in 2006.

Sinclair anticipates that this revenue stream could double again by 2010 to almost $100 million.

The compensation will be distributed among stations based on market size and other factors, but just an average shows this to be an additional $827,000 per Sinclair station for 2007.

--Carter Cathey
(c) 2007

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Networking in Texas Media: 2007 Event Calendar

The following is a rough 2007 calendar of Media Industry Events in Texas.


Here are some websites to use in order to stay up to date on scheduled events around the state:

Monthly events (DALLAS)

  • Dallas Ad League monthly luncheon
  • AWRT-DFW monthly luncheon

Texas Media Events:

February 8: DALLAS – Dallas Ad League 2007 Addy Awards

  • This annual event presents awards to great creative produced in Dallas. I went to this event several years ago and it was primarily creative services people that attend. Some good work is show-cased, but it wasn't well-attended by media professionals on the buying or selling side of the business. None of my media clients were involved nor were clients.
  • Recommendation: As a media networking opportunity, skip it.

February 17: HOUSTON – Houston Ad Federation 2007 Addy Awards

  • This annual event presents awards to great creative produced in Houston. It is less exciting than the Dallas version and less attended.
  • Recommendation: For media, definitely skip it.

February 23: AUSTIN – Austin Ad Federation 2007 Addy Awards

  • Haven’t been to this one, but I have heard it is not well attended.
  • Recommendation: Again, marginal media value - Skip It.

March 7: SAN ANTONIO – Ad League 2007 ILA Honors Luncheon

  • Honoring AT&T for their innovation and leadership in advertising, this event sounds interesting. I haven't been to an ILA Luncheon before, but on the basis of who potentially might attend, it might be interesting as a networking opportunity and as a way to learn more about AT&T as a potential client.
  • Recommendation: Deserves more investigation.

March 22: DALLAS - AWRT Awards Gala

  • A well-attended, annual event, there are actually two simultaneous events. One is inside the ballroom during the long presentation of media-industry awards and the other is at the bar outside the ballroom.
  • Recommendation: Should Attend (and work both parties).

March 29: DALLAS – Ad League All Fools Golf Tournament

  • I have never participated. I am curious about other events surrounding the golf like awards ceremony, lunch, dinner, etc. There might be some good networking opportunities, but I am not familiar enough with the event to say.
  • Recommendation: Deserves more investigation.

April 10: DALLAS – Ad League Ad Roast (2007 Roastees Barbara and Stan Levinson)

  • A well-attended, annual event, but it is truly painful to endure it. Advertising and Media professionals attempt, usually badly, to roast like the Friar’s Club. It goes from extreme boredom to amazingly insulting. However, it is a big event and everybody goes.
  • Recommendation: Should Attend (even though you probably won’t enjoy it)

April 19: AUSTIN – Austin AWRT Trailblazer Awards

  • 2nd Annual and I have not been previously. The Trailblazer awards are where the media community honors people in the community who have been visionaries when it comes to media. The worth of the event as a networking opportunity depends a great deal on whom is being honored. A good honoree means A-list attendees on both the agency and client side of the business plus all the sellers.
  • Recommendation: More Investigation Needed

April 26: DALLAS – Texas Showdown 2007

  • A well-attended, annual event, which is attended by television stations, radio stations, media mavens, buyers, planners, and assistants. It is an experience. It starts at the hotel with a suite-crawl from one sponsor party to another. After jello shots and fourteen flavors of beer, you take the shuttle out to the ranch. Frozen margaritas and beer are the constant background to events like riding the mechanical bull, getting your butt sketched, line dancing, calf roping, and carnival games.
  • Recommendation: Should Definitely Attend. This is a great networking event and a unique media experience in Texas.

April 27: DALLAS – AWRT Mournin’ After Golf Tournament (Showdown)

  • I have worked this event as a sponsor for several years. You can sponsor a team or sponsor a hole. As a team sponsor, you play in the tournament. As a hole sponsor, you set up an table at the tee-box with Bloody Mary’s, Mimosas, snacks, cokes, freebies, etc. There is usually alcohol and free stuff on every other hole.
  • Recommendation: Maybe Attend. (Please note that this is the morning AFTER Showdown. Pace yourself if you intend to tee off at 8am.)

August 9: AUSTIN – Texas Association of Broadcasters 2007 Annual Convention

  • This is a great event with good sessions. It is mainly attended by Texas broadcast television stations and the numerous companies that call upon them. The sessions are great even though more of them focus on the technical side of broadcasting. The legislative affairs session is always good and the broadcaster panel discussions.
  • Recommendation: Should attend if you are a Texas Broadcaster or sell to them.

October TBD: DALLAS – Dream Fund Night in Monte Carlo

  • A well-attended, annual event with casino table games played for chips. This is a great networking event attended by media industry buyers and sellers. There is a silent auction and at the end of the night, there is a live auction where you use your poker winnings to bid on prizes. People cheat at the live auction so don’t get your hopes up, but it is a good event.
  • Recommendation: Should Attend this great event for a great cause.

October TBD: HOUSTON – Houston Media Classic Golf Tournament

  • A well-attended, annual golf tournament. I have never been, but I am told it is one of the better events in Houston. As with all golf events, I would like to know more about networking opportunities like lunch or awards presentations.
  • Recommendation: Maybe Attend

October-November TBD: DALLAS – AWRT Battle of the Media Stars

  • This is a strange event, but typically well-attended by the station and agency people in Dallas. The idea is that there are teams and they compete in odd events like Battle of the Network Stars. If you are interested in competing, then you have to go to the Battle Team Lottery Happy Hour to try and get on a team. More people watch than compete so it is worth attending either way. Over the last few years, I have started to feel that the attendees have become more and more junior people rather than senior people.
  • Recommendation: Maybe Attend.

November TBD: Dallas – Dream Fund Chili Cook-off

  • I have never been to this event, but everybody that goes says it is great. I don’t know how well-attended it is personally, but it sounds like a relatively large event and the nature of the event lends itself to easy networking.
  • Recommendation: Should Attend

November TBD: HOUSTON – Trailblazer Gala

  • This is the Houston Ad Federation’s annual gala where they recognize and award Trailblazer in Houston media. The quality of the event really depends on who the award recipient is scheduled to be. This is a well-attended event with relatively inexpensive sponsorship opportunities and it is attended by agencies and clients.
  • Recommendation: Maybe Attend

December TBD: DALLAS – SBR / AWRT Christmas Party

  • This is a well-attended event by all Dallas media. Party dresses and dancing, this event is every sales assistant's first opportunity to make bad professional decisions. This event brings out almost everybody and is an excellent networking opportunity.
  • Recommendation: Should Attend

TBD Events:

  • AUSTIN AWRT Battle of the Media Stars
  • AUSTIN AWRT Bachelor Auction
  • SAN ANTONIO AWRT (Media Alliance) SAMA Awards Gala

--Carter Cathey

(c) 2007

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Broadcast / Cable Re-Transmission Agreements: Why Should We Care?


On the surface, there is little that appears as boring as the recent announcement that Time Warner Cable and Sinclair Broadcast Group have reached a cable re-transmission agreement. The net result of this news: nothing changes for viewers.

But, in the broadcasting world, this shows a fundamental shift in business practice and a new step in the evolution of how content is delivered to viewers. Let me back up a bit…

Broadcast television stations create local content and can have exclusive local licenses to network and syndicated content. This means that WFAA-TV, Dallas ABC, produces local news at 6pm and 10pm, they carry ABC network programming exclusively in Dallas, and they have Oprah, for instance, through exclusive syndication.

Local television stations, therefore, own or have an exclusive local license to everything that they broadcast. From their towers, broadcast stations typically send out their content over an analog and a digital signal. As a viewer, you can pick this up through an antenna for free. Sometimes. Some rural viewers do not get a quality over-the-air signal, for instance.

In the Dallas area as an example, 77.7% of the homes have either cable or satellite. So, 22.3% (529,890 households) are using this over-the-air signal while 77.7% (1,848,770 households) are tuning into the local channels through a cable or satellite system that is re-transmitting these local stations on their system. In a small number of cases, people get up and flip the A-B switch on their cable box to view via antenna, but most of the time, people use the online guide to switch to ABC.

This is cable re-transmission.

(While there are different rules for satellite companies and cable companies, for the rest of this article I am going to use the catch-all term 'cable systems' in discussion of re-transmission.)

Cable systems must get permission to re-transmit local broadcast station content. For cable systems and local broadcast stations, this negotiation is critical. Most cable system subscribers expect to be able to get their local channels through their set-top box with no additional effort on their part.

For local broadcast stations, there is a definite benefit as well. Broadcast stations have a coverage area that is strictly defined by the amount of power they put through their tower, the height of their tower, and the geography of the region. Cable re-transmission allows local stations to reach much farther away from their tower, increase their viewing area, and to reach new viewers with no additional cost. They do not have to build additional towers or increase the power of their signals. Larger coverage areas and larger potential audiences lead to higher viewership, higher Nielsen ratings, and more advertising revenue. And, at least in the beginning, local cable systems were not a serious competitor for local television advertising dollars.

The federal government, through the FCC, has been involved in this process for quite some time. Most recently with the Satellite Home Viewers Improvement Act (SHVIA), the federal government set forth some rules for the relationship between local broadcast stations and the cable and satellite systems in their local markets. Three key provisions of SHVIA and other like-minded legislation:
  • Value of True Local Content - The FCC recognized the value of local content and the role local broadcast stations have in their communities by providing local content like weather, news, emergency warnings, and local sports. Therefore, cable and satellite systems can not bring in out-of-market stations and call them ‘local’ to specific markets. For example, KNBC-TV (Los Angeles NBC) could not be brought into Odessa Texas by the local cable system and called the ‘local’ affiliate for Odessa.
  • Must-Carry Provisions – This means that any broadcast station in a market has the right to be carried on all cable and satellite systems in their market as the ‘local’ affiliate. For example, WFAA-TV (Dallas ABC) can assert must-carry and Time Warner is obligated to put the station on their cable systems in Dallas. Must-carry involves no financial obligations from either party.
  • Re-Transmission – This means that a broadcast station, as the content owner in a local market, is not obligated to make their content available to cable systems for free. They are able to withhold their content and negotiate terms for re-transmission.

A local broadcast station could either assert their must-carry rights OR negotiate a re-transmission agreement that might include some sort of compensation or other provisions. In the past, local stations exercised their must-carry rights to force cable systems to carry their content, but provided their content for free. However, in recent years, local stations have begun to reconsider this practice.

Considering the benefits to local broadcast stations, why does providing content to cable systems pose a problem for local television stations?

  • While not historically a threat, local cable systems are now one of the biggest competitors of local television stations when it comes to local commercial advertising sales.
  • In addition, local cable systems now routinely charge their subscribers an additional $4.00 - $10.00 per month to access the local broadcast channels. They are charging customers for content that they are getting from local broadcast stations for free.
  • Local Broadcast stations know how important and profitable it is to cable systems to provide access to the local broadcast station content to their subscribers.

The result has been the beginning of a change in practice. Local stations and, more importantly, large station groups like Nexstar Broadcasting and Sinclair Broadcasting Group, are beginning to re-negotiate their deals with cable and satellite systems demanding compensation for the right to re-transmit their content. They are asking the question 'Why should local broadcasters provide content to cable and satellite systems for free?'

What would happen if local broadcasters decided not to license their content to cable and satellite systems? This is an interesting question which nobody can fully answer. Cable system owners worry about three things:

  1. Would subscribers pay for cable that did not include local channels?
  2. If Satellite reaches an agreement with local stations, would cable subscribers convert to satellite rather than cable?
  3. And, perhaps the biggest question, if cable systems pay one station in one market for local content, does this mean that every station in every market is going to want to be paid?

But, it isn't as lopsided in favor of the local broadcast television stations as it might seem. They are hesitant to pull their content from cable systems even though they feel strongly that they should be getting compensated. It looks good on paper, but it is a risk. In the short-term, viewership and ratings would go down. This would be true for no other reason than it takes people a while to figure out how to find programming in a new place. This would level off some over a period of months, but it would be a noticeable hit. This dip in ratings would negatively affect the station for a long time as it creates a history that will be used to negotiate future media schedules. But, the risk goes deeper than that...

Back to WFAA-TV, what if they withheld their content from cable only to find that viewers started going to ABC.com to watch Lost and Desperate Housewives each week or watched them through sling-casting from another ABC station in another market? Nobody has an idea what the full consequences would be. And, nobody wants to be the one left holding the bag.

For local broadcast systems, there has been a lack of solidarity on this issue. They have been competitors first and broadcasters second. I think this is changing due in large part to broadcasters like Perry Sook (photograph), Nexstar Broadcasting, that challenged the way it had always been done and led the charge even when he had to do it alone. Pulling his stations off the cable systems in several markets when his request for compensation was denied, he jump-started the conversation of how to correctly value and compensate local stations for local content. Under Sook's direction, Nexstar Broadcasting was the first broadcast group to reach a re-transmission agreement that included some form of compensation. Now, Sinclair Broadcasting has reached an agreement, also undisclosed, that includes compensation.

The battle over re-transmission is an important one for local broadcasters and content creators especially as we enter a new technical age where content can be consumed in so many new and fast-changing ways. With the introduction of video streaming, pod casting, video phones, sling-casting, and other new technologies, the battle over re-transmission will set an important precedent on the relationship between local content producers and those that amalgamate local content regardless of the technological form the distribution might take in the years to come.

--Carter Cathey
(c) 2007

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Superbowl XLI Media Overview

During Superbowl XLI, the biggest category with the most product mentions was CBS promoting their own programming with 45 commercials and/or promotional mentions.

CBS most heavily promoted:

The biggest paying category was, not surprisingly, Automotive with 25 commercials and/or product mentions by nine brands.

Top Five in Automotive:

  • Cadillac (4)
  • Chevrolet (4)
  • Honda (4)
  • Toyota (3)
  • Ford Trucks (3)

The third category was beer and this was the largest exclusive category with all 13 commercials and/or product mentions being for Budweiser products. Non-alcoholic beverages (10), Internet (6), Snacks (6), Insurance (5), DVD Rental (4), and Employment (4), rounded out the top ten categories. For a full category listing, see Superbowl Commercial Categories.

There were 83 advertisers in Superbowl XLI many of which were advertising multiple brands. Looking just at commercials and not including sponsorships, Budweiser, was the biggest commercial advertiser with nine entries for at least four different beers. For a complete list of advertisers, see Superbowl XLI Commercial Advertiser Rankings. For a complete list of sponsors, see Superbowl XLI Sponsorships.

Top Six Commercial Advertisers:

  • Budweiser All Products (9)
  • Grammy Awards (6)
  • Survivor Fiji (5)
  • Cadillac (4)
  • Coke (4) NFL (4)

With a total of 144 commercial spots at an average in-game / post-game selling price somewhere between $2M and $2.6M, this game generated between $280M and $375M in commercial revenue alone.

For a complete log of all commercials and their pod positions, please see Superbowl XLI Commercial and Promotion Log.

Superbowl XLI Commercial and Promotion Log

The following is a list of all the commercials, promotions, and/or sponsorships that were broadcast during the commercial breaks of Superbowl XLI. I did not collect mentions and logos that appeared during actual game play. Everything I collected occurred in the commercial breaks. Beginning with pod 01-00, Ford Trucks broadcast the last commercial before the hard open. I did not record the length of each spot nor did I differentiate between :60, :30, :15, :10, or :05 spots.

Position ---- Advertiser ---- Commercial
01-00 ---- Ford Trucks ---- Assembly (lead-in spot)
01-01 ---- Budweiser ---- Low Five (Rock, Paper, Scissors)
01-02 ---- Doritos ---- Smooth
01-03 ---- Blockbuster Online ---- Carl & Ray Mouse Click
01-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- CBS Evening News with Katie Couric
01-05 ---- Superbowl ---- Prince Halftime Show
02-01 ---- Sierra Mist ---- Beard Combover
02-02 ---- Salesgenie.com ---- Sales Leads
02-03 ---- Sierra Mist ---- Karate
02-04 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Budweiser
02-05 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Pepsi
02-06 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Federal Express
03-01 ---- Toyota ---- Tundra off a cliff
03-02 ---- Federal Express ---- Moon Office
03-03 ---- Bud Light ---- Wedding Auctioneer
03-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- Amazing Race
03-05 ---- Superbowl ---- Prince Halftime Show
04-01 ---- Snickers ---- Lady & The Tramp Kiss
04-02 ---- Schick ---- Titanium Shaver
04-03 ---- Movie Release ---- Pride
04-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- Survivor Fiji
04-05 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Toyota
04-06 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Career Builder
05-01 ---- Chevrolet ---- Songs
05-02 ---- Bud Light ---- Foreign Students
05-03 ---- CBS Promos ---- Grammy Awards
05-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- Letterman & Oprah Promo
06-01 ---- godaddy.com ---- Marketing Department
06-02 ---- Coke ---- Grand Theft Auto Redux
06-03 ---- CBS Promos ---- CBS is #1
07-01 ---- Bud ---- Muddy Dog / Fire truck
07-02 ---- Garmin ---- Maposaurus
07-03 ---- CBS Promos ---- CBS Cares / NFL Mentor
07-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- Pro Bowl Promo
07-05 ---- CBS Promos ---- Grammy Awards
08-01 ---- Career Builder ---- Outdoor Office
08-02 ---- Doritos ---- Cleanup on Register 6
08-03 ---- Chevrolet ---- University of Washington Contest Spot
08-04 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Chevrolet
08-05 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Doritos
09-01 ---- Bud Light ---- Slap is in
09-02 ---- Beat Your Risk? ---- Heart Character beat up by illness characters
09-03 ---- United Way ---- Go United Way
09-04 ---- Superbowl ---- Prince Halftime Show
10-01 ---- General Motors ---- GM Robot Suicide
10-02 ---- Coke ---- Black History
10-03 ---- CBS Promos ---- Letterman & Dr. Phil Promo
10-04 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- General Motors
10-05 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Budweiser
11-01 ---- Movie Release ---- Wild Hogs
11-02 ---- Sprint ---- Connectile Dysfunction
11-03 ---- Motorola ---- Football Video on Phone
11-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- How I Met Your Mother
11-05 ---- CBS Promos ---- Amazing Race
12-01 ---- Doritos ---- Black History
13-01 ---- Coke ---- What Else Haven't I Done?
14-01 ---- CBS Promos ---- Rules of Engagement
14-02 ---- CBS Promos ---- CSI (Vegas)
15-01 ---- CBS Promos ---- Two & 1/2 Men
15-02 ---- CBS Promos ---- CSI (Vegas)
15-03 ---- CBS Promos ---- Shark
15-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- March Madness (bubbles?)
15-05 ---- CBS Promos ---- Grammy Awards
15-06 ---- Ford Trucks ---- We're #1
15-07 ---- Chase Bank ---- Stoplight ATM Visit
15-08 ---- Acura ---- Aren't We Advanced?
15-09 ---- CBS Promos ---- CBS Evening News with Katie Couric
15-10 ---- Blockbuster Online ---- Blockbuster Halftime Show Sponsorship
16-01 ---- CBS Promos ---- NCIS / The Unit Combo
16-02 ---- CBS Promos ---- Survivor Fiji
16-03 ---- NFL Promo ---- Difference Makers
16-04 ---- Pepsi ---- Superbowl 41 Halftime Show Sponsorship
17-01 ---- CBS Promos ---- Criminal Minds
17-02 ---- CBS Promos ---- CSI Miami
17-03 ---- CBS Promos ---- Jericho
18-01 ---- CBS Promos ---- CBS Evening News with Katie Couric
18-02 ---- CBS Promos ---- CSI NY
18-03 ---- CBS Promos ---- Grammy Awards
18-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- Survivor Fiji
18-05 ---- Chevrolet ---- Chevy Trucks Best Coverage
18-06 ---- Cargill ---- Cute Animal Stuff
18-07 ---- MetroPCS ---- Call Network or Out of Network
18-08 ---- Honda Civic ---- Tron Homage
18-09 ---- CBS Promos ---- Local Affiliate
19-01 ---- Movie Release ---- Disney's Meet the Robinsons
19-02 ---- E-Trade ---- Robbed by Your Bank
19-03 ---- Coke ---- Extraordinary Production inside Coke Machine (long-form)
19-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- Craig Ferguson
19-05 ---- NFL Promo ---- Football
20-01 ---- Bud Light ---- Monkeys Planning a Break
20-02 ---- Revlon ---- Cheryl Crow Colors Her Hair
20-03 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Bud.tv
20-04 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- ??? (Can't Read my Notes)
20-05 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Wild Hogs
21-01 ---- Career Builder ---- Office Survivor
21-02 ---- Taco Bell ---- Lions Ricardo Montalban
21-03 ---- Van Heusen ---- Just Lucky or Knows How to Dress?
21-04 ---- Cadillac ---- Vote for SVP online
21-05 ---- CBS Promos ---- Two & 1/2 Men
22-01 ---- Toyota ---- Tundra up a ramp
22-02 ---- Emerald Nuts ---- Robert Goulet during nap time
22-03 ---- T-Mobile ---- Is this your Dad? Dwayne Wayne / Charles Barkley
22-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- Grammy Awards
22-05 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Coke
22-06 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Revlon
23-01 ---- Federal Express ---- Ground Service: Judging by a name
23-02 ---- Nationwide ---- Kevin Federline: Life Comes at You Fast
23-03 ---- Bud Light ---- Hitcher with an axe
23-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- CSI (Vegas)
24-01 ---- CBS Promos ---- CBS Sports
24-02 ---- Mitsubishi ---- Outlander - Out Everything
24-03 ---- Jack in the Box ---- I want to be a Vegetarian
24-04 ---- Dodge Trucks ---- Truck Stop Country
24-05 ---- CBS Promos ---- Local Affiliate CBS 11 Official Home of Cowboys
25-01 ---- Budweiser ---- Crabs Cooler Grab
25-02 ---- Prudential ---- What a rock can do
25-03 ---- Honda CRV ---- Hunk of Burning Love
25-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- Survivor Fiji
26-01 ---- Hewlett-Packard ---- Making the Computer Personal Again
26-02 ---- Izod ---- Melting Pot Sports
26-03 ---- Budweiser ---- Future Tabletop Football
26-04 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Honda
26-05 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Hewlett-Packard
26-06 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- E-Trade
27-01 ---- Flomax ---- Men who want to pee less
27-02 ---- E-Trade ---- Things to do with one finger
27-03 ---- CBS Promos ---- Rules of Engagement
28-01 ---- Movie Release ---- Hannibal Rising
28-02 ---- Career Builder ---- Outdoor Survivor - Torture
28-03 ---- CBS Promos ---- Criminal Minds
28-04 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- godaddy.com
28-05 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- bud.tv
29-01 ---- Honda ---- Gas Pumps Unneeded
29-02 ---- godaddy.com ---- Marketing Department
29-03 ---- Snapple ---- Green Tea Yogi
29-04 ---- NFL Promo ---- Its Hard to Say Goodbye
29-05 ---- CBS Promos ---- CSI Miami
30-01 ---- Michelin ---- A Better Way Forward
30-02 ---- Blockbuster Online ---- Total Access - Alec Baldwin
30-03 ---- Start Farm ---- Agents make the difference
30-04 ---- California Cheese ---- Happy Cows
30-05 ---- CBS Promos ---- Grammy Awards
30-06 ---- Lexus IL ---- So Much for Gravity
30-07 ---- Geico Insurance ---- Gecko in therapy
31-01 ---- Cadillac ---- Car Evolution
31-02 ---- Beat Your Risk? ---- Heart Character beat up by illness characters
31-03 ---- godaddy.com ---- Marketing Department
31-04 ---- Comcast ---- DSL Sucks but fast isn't for everyone
31-05 ---- Salesgenie.com ---- Sales Leads
32-01 ---- Cadillac ---- Tiki Barber and Opportunity
32-02 ---- Lunestra ---- Can't Sleep?
32-03 ---- Progressive Insurance ---- Insurance is cool
32-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- Rules of Engagement
32-05 ---- CBS Promos ---- Amazing Race
32-06 ---- NFL ---- Get your Superbowl hats & shirts at …
33-01 ---- Cadillac ---- Andy Garcia
33-02 ---- Netflix ---- 1 Billion Movies
33-03 ---- CBS Promos ---- Survivor Fiji
33-04 ---- Ford Trucks ---- Expedition Extended Length
33-05 ---- TXU ---- Pick Your Plan
33-06 ---- Mercedes ---- Every Owner Has a Story
33-07 ---- CBS Promos ---- Local Affiliate CBS 11
33-08 ---- Into Criminal Minds through Nance and Simms calling Superbowl…

Superbowl XLI Sponsorships

This lists major and minor sponsorships during Superbowl XLI.

Major Sponsorships: These were sponsorships that had substantial screen time and talking points on-air.
  • Pepsi - Halftime Show (Prince)
  • Blockbuster Online - Halftime Sponsor
  • Cadillac-Game MVP Free Car

Minor Sponsorships: These were mentioned coming out of commercial breaks as Superbowl XLI sponsors with logo identification.

  • Budweiser (Four Different Products)
  • Career Builder
  • Chevrolet
  • Coke
  • Doritos
  • E-Trade
  • Federal Express
  • General Motors
  • godaddy.com
  • Hewlett-Packard
  • Honda
  • Pepsi
  • Revlon
  • Toyota
  • Wild Hogs
  • One more ??? (Can't Read my Notes)

Superbowl XLI Commercial Advertiser Rankings

The following is a list of advertisers that were involved in Superbowl XLI and to what degree they were involved. I did not record the length of each spot, but this list is for commercials rather than mere sponsorship mentions. I did not differentiate between :60, :30, :15, or :10 spots.

Budweiser (All Products) - 9
Grammy Awards - 6
Survivor Fiji - 5
Cadillac - 4
Coke - 4
NFL - 4
Amazing Race - 3
Career Builder - 3
CBS Evening News with Katie Couric - 3
Chevrolet - 3
CSI (Vegas) - 3
Doritos - 3
Ford Trucks - 3
godaddy.com - 3
Honda (All Cars) - 3
Local Affiliate CBS 11 - 3
Prince Halftime Show Promos - 3
Rules of Engagement - 3
Beat Your Risk? - 2
Blockbuster Online - 2
Criminal Minds - 2
CSI Miami - 2
E-Trade - 2
Federal Express - 2
Letterman - 2
Salesgenie.com - 2
Sierra Mist - 2
Toyota - 2
Two & 1/2 Men - 2
Acura - 1
California Cheese - 1
Cargill - 1
CBS Cares - NFL Mentor - 1
CBS is #1 - 1
CBS Sports - 1
Chase Bank - 1
Comcast - 1
Craig Ferguson - 1
CSI NY - 1
Dodge Trucks - 1
Dr. Phil - 1
Emerald Nuts - 1
Flomax - 1
Garmin - 1
Geico Insurance - 1
General Motors - 1
Hannibal Rising - 1
Hewlett-Packard - 1
How I Met Your Mother - 1
Izod - 1
Jack in the Box - 1
Jericho - 1
Lexus IL - 1
Lunestra - 1
March Madness (bubbles?) - 1
Meet the Robinsons - 1
Mercedes - 1
MetroPCS - 1
Michelin - 1
Mitsubishi - 1
Motorola - 1
Nationwide - 1
NCIS - 1
Netflix - 1
Oprah Promo - 1
Pride - 1
Pro Bowl Promo - 1
Progressive Insurance - 1
Prudential - 1
Revlon - 1
Schick - 1
Shark - 1
Snapple - 1
Snickers - 1
Sprint - 1
State Farm - 1
Taco Bell - 1
The Unit - 1
T-Mobile - 1
TXU - 1
United Way - 1
Van Heusen - 1
Wild Hogs - 1

Superbowl Commercials Categories

The following are a list of categories (my own) that show which categories were involved in the Superbowl to a greater or lesser degree. I did not record then length of each spot or sponsorship mention. If a commercial ran or the product received a verbal sponsorship credit, then I included it for my purposes. I did not include every time a logo appeared on-screen during the game. Further, during commercial breaks, I did not differentiate between :60, :30, :15, :10, or :05 spots.

Category
CBS Promos - 45
Automotive - 25
Beer - 13
Beverage - 10
Internet - 6
Snack - 6
Insurance - 5
Movie Release - 5
DVD Rental - 4
Employment - 4
Financial - 4
NFL - 4
Technology - 4
Cellular - 3
Personal Care - 3
Shipping - 3
Agricultural - 2
Apparel - 2
Fast Food - 2
Health Care - 2
Medicine - 2
Auto Parts/Service - 1
Cable Provider - 1
Charity - 1
Energy - 1