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Turner Sports new ad unit connects digital opportunities across its portfolio

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Turner Sports new ad unit connects digital opportunities across its portfolio

Connecting the various digital properties it manages, Turner Broadcasting System Inc.'s Turner Sports Inc. is offering advertisers one-stop buying opportunities within live coverage across its basketball, baseball, golf, esports and soccer portfolio.

Whereas the company has focused on digital deals from property to property, the Turner Sports Live unit is facilitating the purchase of sponsorships and schedules that can potentially reach 51 million fans through digital and TV Everywhere platforms, as well as streaming inventory within Bleacher Report Live, the direct-to-consumer service that launched in April. In addition to buying traditional spots within the live event coverage, advertisers can create integrated partnerships within the digital ecosystem through Turner Ignite Sports, its branded content/sports marketing services unit.

Seth Ladetsky, senior vice president of sales for Turner Sports, in an interview said that Turner Sports Live launched about a month ago in response to advertiser demand. Although declining to name the advertisers, Ladetsky said Turner Sports Live has already tallied a number of deals. Campaigns secured via Turner Sports Live have launched on its NBA playoff and ELEAGUE coverage. He noted that Turner Sports Live is also part of the company's upfront pitch to advertisers for the 2018-19 TV season.

Ladetsky said that when it comes to digital, Turner Sports doesn’t have "a consumer-facing portal," rather its online presence is tied to the individual leagues and sports. "Our focus has been on property to property, but Turner Sports Live makes it easy for clients to buy and execute campaigns," he said. "We are still selling individual properties, but there are opportunities to bring the portfolio together. Think of it as unwired network."

In addition to boosting digital revenue during sports seasons, Ladetsky said Turner Sports Live caters to advertisers with a limited budget to invest in TV or multiplatform schedules or the means to secure significant digital weight against a specific sports property.

In turn, Turner believes that some advertisers will see the effectiveness of the broader digital gambit and then expand their budgets, allocating more resources to larger associations against properties on both an online and linear basis.

With Turner Sports Live, advertisers can tap into live inventory available on NBA.com, TNT Overtime, NBA League Pass and authenticated TNT streaming; college basketball coverage on NCAA.com and NCAA March Madness Live; UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League via B/R Live and authenticated streaming on Turner networks; MLB games through TBS TVE authentication; golf via PGA.com, PGAChampionship.com, RyderCup.com and authenticated TNT streaming; and ELEAGUE on Twitch Interactive Inc., Amazon.com Inc.'s video game streaming platform, and authenticated TBS streaming. In addition to NBA League Pass, golf and UEFA soccer, advertisers can secure positions within the National Lacrosse League, The Spring League, the World Surf League and the World Arm Wrestling League, among other properties, via B/R Live, the new streaming home of the Champions League and Europa League.

As to soccer, Turner Sports will kick off its coverage of Europe’s top two club competitions this August. While TBS (US), TNT (US) and truTV (US) will televise about one-third of the matches linearly, the bulk of Champions and Europa League action will run on B/R Live service, which is expected to convert from preview to pay mode shortly before those competitions begin their 2018-19 campaigns.

Ladetsky called UEFA "a prominent asset," adding that Turner will not only air the matches but will bring "a modern presentation" to the programming around the games. Turner is closing sponsorship deals around its upcoming UEFA coverage, according to Ladetsky.

Turner Broadcasting is a unit of Time Warner Inc.