Lucas Oil Pumps $15M Into Mav TV Brand Buy

Lucas Oil is kicking off a $15 million branding campaign for Mav TV, the male-oriented cable network it controls.
The campaign includes local media buys and prominent brand positioning within Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium, the site of this year's NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Final Four and national title game and home to the National Football League's Colts.

Mav TV also will get brand positioning within Lucas Oil's Off Road Racing Series, the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Series, Lucas Oil Pro Pulling events and two teams in the National Hot Rod Association.

Mav TV branding also will be featured on Lucas Oil products sold in more than 20,000 retail locations.
Network president Steve Smith said in a statement the network has upgraded its on-air look and plans to add 15 original series in this "transformative" year.

In January, Lucas Oil founders Forrest and Charlotte Lucas disclosed that their company had become the principal shareholder in Mav TV, which was created in 2002 by former Showtime executives.

"We are very excited about this network and its future potential for Lucas Oil," Lucas Oil EVP Bob Patison said in a release. "We have invested heavily in Lucas Oil studios and grass roots racing series throughout the country that will be the backbone of the network. We want Mav TV to be the destination for those viewers as well as the non racing community as we embark on new original content that will premiere this year."

Mav TV shows now include Speed Freaks, The RAD Girls, AMA Motorcycle Racing and Lucas Oil Motorsports.