But doesn't that mean that the agency (ATS) pays the network (NBC) for the TV spot, then tries to make up the difference (and hopefully a profit) by selling directly to advertising companies (i.e. South Korea tourist agency, East-west bank)?
All that Skate
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But doesn't that mean that the agency (ATS) pays the network (NBC) for the TV spot, then tries to make up the difference (and hopefully a profit) by selling directly to advertising companies (i.e. South Korea tourist agency, East-west bank)?
No, the advertisers buy the airtime, from the network. The network pays ATS for the broadcast rights.
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R.D. said:
IIRC this was basically the deal worked out by USFS to broadcast events in the U.S., like Skate America and U.S. Nationals. The network would not pay USFS anything for their product (like they pay the National Football League, Major League Baseball, etc.), and it would be up to USFS to round up enough advertising on their own to foot the bill. So it was a big deal when USFS was able to attract naming sponsors like State Farm to make it work.
I have the impression, though, that in the two years that this contract has been in place there has been a lot of back and forth cooperation between NBC and USFS, so the burden hasn't been 100% on the Association.
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Are you sure about that? Some TV shows are like that, such as weekly situation comedies. Others -- especially one-shot deals like ice shows -- must go the route that R.D. outlined. They buy the air time from the network, then recoup their costs by selling advertising directly.
It all depends on whether the network thinks they have a ratings winner and are willing to pay the producer for the broadcast rights.
Does anyone know how the Disson shows are financed?
Infomercials buy time from the network or cable company. Other shows make money by selling broadcast rights to the network. The network makes money through advertising. One reason why we see so little skating on TV is that the networks don't think they can raise enough ad revenue because the ratings are historically low. ATS probably brought some sponsors in for this show--like Korean Airlines--but the money would go to NBC.
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Here is an article outlining the three main ways that sports events get on TV. It mostly gives examples from the 1990s, when, I believe, the standard model of the network buying the rights from the producer, then selling advertising, first started to come under closer scrutiny. In part three of the article there are some examples of the "time-buy" format, from that period.
I think that nowadays the contracts between producers of sporting events are some sort of hibrid. In the USFSA's old contract with ABC, for instance, the network paid a flat fee for the rights to broadcast skating events. I think it was about $5,000,000 annually (the last contract was for $12,000,000 over three years, ending, I believe, in 2006?)
Anyway, in the new NBC contract with USFS the producers get zero and as far as I can tell (from reading the USFSA's financial reports) the network and the Association work together to attract sponsors, with the USFSA being allowed to keep some of the money if the event is a financial success.
It is my impression that everyone is scrabbling to come up with "creative financing" for these endeavors, so that no-one takes too bad a financial bath if venture is unsuccessful.
http://www.onlinesports.com/sportstrust/sports4.html
I think that nowadays the contracts between producers of sporting events are some sort of hibrid. In the USFSA's old contract with ABC, for instance, the network paid a flat fee for the rights to broadcast skating events. I think it was about $5,000,000 annually (the last contract was for $12,000,000 over three years, ending, I believe, in 2006?)
Anyway, in the new NBC contract with USFS the producers get zero and as far as I can tell (from reading the USFSA's financial reports) the network and the Association work together to attract sponsors, with the USFSA being allowed to keep some of the money if the event is a financial success.
It is my impression that everyone is scrabbling to come up with "creative financing" for these endeavors, so that no-one takes too bad a financial bath if venture is unsuccessful.
http://www.onlinesports.com/sportstrust/sports4.html
Hmm...in a "regular" sports deal that involves a rights fee, that is the case...but I think "revenue-sharing" and "time-buy" agreements are different. And I doubt ATS could have charged NBC any type of rights fee, esp. for a Sunday afternoon skating show.
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That could be true - but there are many ways to work a deal for broadcasting a sports or entertainment special.
It is possible that ATS might have approached NBC about this and it is also possible an NBC executive might have seen the show in Korea and approached ATS about broadcasting the LA show in the US.
Nothing is possible without heavy corporate sponsorship and it was easy to see who paid the bulk of the costs for broadcasting the LA show in the USA.
I have no idea how they cut the deal but since skating on TV is something I enjoy it is of interest thinking about how the LA show came to be broadcast.
Johnny has said he wants to have his own show and he probably has some interesting if not different ideas for a skating show.
But he does not appear to have the financial backing to pull it off at this time. That is ashame in a way because even though I am not a big Johnny fan I have no doubt that he could create an interesting and much different type of skating show than we have seen in the past and I certainly would watch it.
I read that a few posters wished they could have seen the Japan Open on TV here in the USA. I would have liked to see it too and perhaps somewhere a Japanese executive took note of the ATS LA show and will see if there are possibilties to broadcast this event in other areas of the world. With N. American and European skaters taking part in the event there might seem to be a possibilty.
It comes down to sponsorship and advertising. ATS has a product that was able to secure the backing of major sponsors for a Sunday afternoon national broadcast in the USA.
My initial curiosity about this was spurred on by the lack of NBC commercials advertising the broadcast of the LA show. There may have been some but I didn't see them. The other thing I noticed was the absence of guest appearances by the skaters on any NBC talk/entertainment shows.
If NBC was responsible for the bottom line then we would have seen a few of the skaters appearing on the Today show, Leno, etc. Johnny in particular would have jumped at such an opportunity. We would also have seen - possibly by way of contractual obligations - an appearance by Yuna and Michelle together pitching the show.
But since we saw no such thing it leads me to believe NBC was off the hook financialy for the show. While ratings count - NBC knows that almost nothing will beat the CBS and Fox Sunday afternoon NFL football broadcasts.
I think ATS produced a very good, high quality skating show. I hope we will see more in the future from ATS and from others. I am interested to hear about the ratings and hope it did well enough to satisfy the corporate sponsors.
The other thing I noticed was how much Michelle's presence was emphasized, not just on the ice but in the off-ice moments. Clearly this was a move to attract general American viewers, who might not have a clue about who YuNa Kim is even with her gold medal. I thought that was very savvy, and also very gracious of YuNa to give another skater such a prominent role.
I think Johnny probably has a chance if he can team up with other personalities, not necessarily skating ones. (I foresee a role for Lady Gaga!)
I think Johnny probably has a chance if he can team up with other personalities, not necessarily skating ones. (I foresee a role for Lady Gaga!)
It was a smart business decision from ATS' part to have Michelle up front as a co-headliner. Michelle played bigger part in LA than she did in the Seoul show, actively promoting the show by utilizing her media relations in LA. I can see ATS keep it that way or even put other former stars up front (Katrina Witt maybe?) until the brand ATS becomes more well-known in the US.
I heard ATS show did better than 2008 Skate America in terms of ratings. Considering the hour of the day, it wasn't too bad.
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Where did you hear that? IIRC SA 2008 did something like a 1.3, so that's on the high side for a skating show these days.
Even if NBC paid to ATS for the broadcasting rights, the financial burden to NBC would have been negligible and certainly that would not have resulted in NBC's decision to have skaters appearing on prime time talk shows nor burning much ad time to promote the show beforehand. After all, it is a Sunday afternoon skating exhibition show and they know the show would make little difference in terms of ratings, especially having all the Sunday football games lined up in other networks, no matter how great the show is.
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Really? SA 2008 was 1.3? Wasn't it more like 0.3? 1.3 seems to be too high to me. I know 2010 US National's average rating on Jan 24th, the night Sasha Cohen returned for her FS, was roughly 1.1.
http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/01/2...s-americas-most-wanted-duo-wins-for-fox/39934
I think you guys are making this event more important to NBC than it really is- typical of skating fans to look at this through a biased lens. It's nothing more than a simple skating special...just like Steve Disson, ATS (likely) wished for the show to get airtime in the States, so they looked to NBC, who is already broadcasting other skating shows, and they agreed. simple.
Oh, you must be referring to the adults 18-49 rating, which is lower. I was quoting the 1.3 as the TOTAL viewer rating. The 18-49 rating (especially for skating) is much lower, and that's a problem- why? because that's who the advertisers want.
I am not saying the show was a major TV extravaganza or anything, but I thought the point of discussion here was whether NBC approached ATS first or the other way around, and we don't know who initiated the deal first. Both scenarios are likely, considering the one and half hour TV slot in early Sunday afternoon is not too costly.
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Ya, that's a problem in attracting ad owners.
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Actually, I am not sure what your point is - but if this is your first post, welcome to GS.
"Live long and prosper" or whatever that catchy phrase is that GS moderators use to welcome new members.
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That would be may you "Post often; post long!"
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