New York -- TVKO is doing double marketing duty for two
pay-per-view events scheduled within days of one another.
TVKO will target boxing fans with a significant marketing
push for its June 25 James "Buster" Douglas-Lou Savarese fight, while attempting
to reach music fans with promotions for its June 27 Phil Collins concert.
The network has created different on-air promos for the
Thursday-night Douglas-Savarese event -- 30- and 60-second Spanish-language spots touting
the appearance of former welterweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez on the undercard; and
similar, English-language spots highlighting the main event -- said Dan York, vice
president and general manager for TVKO.
The network has reeled in several national sponsors for the
fight, including Anheuser-Busch Co.'s Budweiser Beer, International Boxing Digest,
Ring magazine and Guantas, a Spanish-language boxing magazine. Also, TVKO
has reached an agreement with a yet-to-be-named online-navigation service.
And operators can run a TVKO-produced 30-minute preview
show on their barker channels, York said.
While the suggested retail price of the event is $29.95,
York said, some systems in largely Hispanic markets have upped the price to $34.95 to take
advantage of Chavez's appeal.
The outcomes of both the Chavez-Ken Sigurani and the
Douglas-Saverese bouts could have significant ramifications on future mega-PPV bouts. If
Chavez wins, he is slated to meet junior welterweight champion Oscar De La Hoya in a
rematch of their June 1996 fight, which Chavez lost convincingly.
If Douglas wins, he could be in line for a rematch with
former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson -- if the Nevada Athletic Commission restores
Tyson's boxing license in July. The commission banned Tyson for life after the
fighter bit off part of Evander Holyfield's ear in a bout last June.
"With victories, Douglas and Chavez set the stage for
some prospective PPV mega-events for the second half of 1998 and early 1999," York
said.
Meanwhile, TVKO is also busy marketing its Collins concert.
The taped event from Paris will benefit from a marketing tie-in with Collins' record
label, Atlantic Records, York said. The two companies will partner on radio promotions and
point-of-sale and print ads that will appear in key PPV markets and geographic areas where
Collins' record sales are strong.
Collins himself will be the subject of interviews with TV
Guide and Total TV, and he will actively promote the PPV show this month during
his 13-city tour.
"Collins is one of the top-selling artists of all
time, and his career has spanned three decades," York said. "This concert from
Paris features many of his greatest hits."
