Sales Idea from the New York Yankees

Squeezing more cash out of a sold-out inventory is the anticipated outcome of the YES Network’s decision to sell a single, 90-second spot in each of its televised Yankee baseball games. This 90 is priced at a premium for being the only unit in the break and for having some “booth chatter” – presumably something resembling a billboard.

It won’t be for everyone, but could a 90 second spot have potential for your station?

A single 90 could be offered daily in one or two non-peak hours (select hours between 10pm-4am and early on Sunday mornings for example) as an incentive to purchase an otherwise undersold daypart. Or a 90 may be useful for a station in the cluster that is having difficulty creating a unique selling proposition for itself. Or a 90 could be used for sponsorship of a long feature – like an hour of a countdown or a half-hour public affairs program.

Be sure to set production guidelines, such as forbidding 60/30 or 30/30/30 piggy-backs. And limit the number you sell to keep their value high; the Yankees are offering only one per day.