ESPN Summer X Games pulled off a new trick this year. By changing the way they sell sponsorships, organizers have brought the number of national sponsors to at least 15, up from 10 last year.
Because several companies didn’t renew in 2009, Walt Disney Co. subsidiary ESPN took a new approach to its corporate partnerships for 2010. Instead of offering only two levels of sponsorships, companies that want to sponsor the Summer X Games have a wider variety of options to tailor the deals to suit themselves.
“The number of sponsors and revenue have grown because we’ve launched the new model at a time when people needed more options,” said Michele Krumper, senior director of sports management for ESPN. “We’ve seen significant year-over-year growth.”
The action sports event, now in its 16th year, will take over downtown Los Angeles for a four-day run on Thursday with events at Staples Center and Nokia Theatre, and the nearby L.A. Memorial Coliseum.
ESPN wouldn’t disclose financials, but stated that sponsorship revenue represents a double-digit percentage increase compared with 2009.
ESPN changed the sponsorship model when it began selling new sponsorships in January. New sponsors include Ford Motor Co., Samsung and BF Goodrich, which signed one-year contracts.
The ESPN demographic trends toward males 18-34, a group that has strongly adapted to social media and mobile technology. That’s an area where ESPN could do better, Krumper acknowledged.
X Games digital and mobile platforms have seen double the number of hits this year related to action sports such as skateboarding and motor sports through its dedicated YouTube channel and mobile phone applications. Krumper would like to see ESPN develop more content because that would also help sell sponsorships.
“The reality is that it is a four-day event. It’s hard to justify the cost of a sponsorship to senior management,” she said. Many companies would prefer to partner with an event that can have a year-round impact on fans.
X Game competitor Alliance Action of Sports’ Dew Tour has created a series of events in different cities offering high prize money, but they haven’t generated TV ratings on par with X Games. Meanwhile, ESPN is expanding the X Games concept by adding three international events in Brazil, Asia and Europe.
“We’re creating more of a league. There are summer, winter and international events. We have the ratings and print, but need to push out content year-round,” Krumper said.
Summer Sale
The Los Angeles Dodgers are trying to make game attendance more family-friendly.
The team is offering a $5 child ticket with the purchase of each adult ticket for any seat on the field and loge levels. Adult tickets range in price from $35 to $130, meaning that a kid’s discount could be 95 percent.
“We are hoping to spur some walk-up sales and have fans sit in the closer seats,” said Josh Rawitch, team spokesman.
The number of tickets available through the deal depends on advanced ticket sales. The promotion is only valid at the box office two hours prior to a game.
As of July 19, the Dodgers had played 47 home games with average paid attendance of 44,829. That’s up about 1,000 fans per game compared with the first 47 games in 2009. Stadium capacity is 56,000.
Field Goal
About 500 people attended the L.A. Sports and Entertainment Commission’s NFL 101 event to hear what players, coaches and executives are saying about the upcoming season. The event, which also honored Steve Soboroff as sportsman of the year, took place at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum last week.
Now in its eighth year, it’s the only sanctioned National Football League event in Los Angeles. Its goal is to show the league that there is still strong support for a team in Los Angeles even though there hasn’t been a game played here in 15 years. Plus, a return to Los Angeles would likely eventually bring a Super Bowl, which people believe would generate millions of dollars for the local economy.
Some players and coaches in attendance were excited at the prospect of a team returning to Los Angeles. A short-term solution surfaced, too.
Oakland Raiders player Langston Walker said that he would love to play for an L.A. team, but in the meantime, he’d be willing to play in just one game in Los Angeles
“The NFL has had games in other countries,” Walker said, referring to games that have been played in foreign markets during the past several seasons. “In the spirit of London, Mexico City and Tokyo, the NFL should organize a game in Los Angeles.”
Walker joked that whichever team sells the most jerseys when it plays here should just stay in Los Angeles.
Staff reporter David Nusbaum can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 236.
