TBS Gets Cable-Operator Affiliates Ready for MLB Playoffs

Turner Network Sales Sets ‘TBS MLB Postseason’ Promotion

By B&C Staff -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/13/2007 4:12:00 PM

Turner Network Sales teamed up with cable-operator affiliates in potential Major League Baseball postseason sites on its “TBS MLB Postseason” promotion.

TBS will air MLB postseason action for the first time, including all Division Series and National League Championship Series games.

TNS teamed up with affiliates including Charter Communications in St. Louis, Comcast in Seattle, Time Warner Cable in Cleveland and Cablevision Systems in the New York area on the promotion, which includes larger-than-life-sized bobbleheads, each known as “Postseason Pete,” outfitted in each city’s team’s uniform “to promote viewership of Major League Baseball on TBS and help heighten the excitement and spirit that each city has for its team,” Turner Broadcasting System’s ad-sales unit said.

Two co-branded, 10-foot, 600-pound baseball-player bobbleheads will be placed in select high-traffic locations and key advertiser locations in each city for a two-week period, where fans will have the chance to have their pictures taken with the bobbleheads and retrieve the photos online, while affiliates can market their services alongside Postseason Pete, TNS added.

TNS will also offer marketing kits for local sports bars to host postseason viewing parties.

“We are thrilled to leverage TBS’ carriage of Division Series and NLCS games to benefit our affiliate partners,” TNS vice president of network marketing and operations Gary Brockman said in a statement. “From on-the-ground tactics, including larger-than-life bobbleheads, to events, mass-media, community affairs and ad sales, we are collaborating with our clients to ensure that we’re covering all bases of their business priorities.”