TNT Lands Full Slate of Sponsors For “Wide Open Coverage” Telecasts
25th June 2008
TNT, which is airing six consecutive weeks of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing, announced today its full lineup of sponsors for this year’s Wide Open Coverage race telecast, which will air once again during the primetime Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola race from Daytona International Speedway on Sat., July 5th. The ten national sponsors, which matches last year’s sponsorship commitment, featured in this year’s innovative telecast include Coke Zero, Coors Light, HP, Papa John’s, Sprint, Subway, Toyota, US Army, Viagra and Warner Bros.
TNT’s exclusive Wide Open Coverage telecast is a television presentation format that provides continuous race coverage free of national commercial breaks and features 22% more unobstructed race action than that of a standard telecast by using a letterbox widescreen format. In place of the national ads, the telecast features a variety of animated sponsor messages, unique branded content and distinct on-screen graphic elements. Wide Open Coverage debuted on TNT during the 2007 Daytona 400 race and showcased extended non-stop green flag racing, missing only three laps of green flag racing.
“Wide Open Coverage is a truly unique television concept that provides sponsors with the opportunity to reach the audience in a new and different way while giving fans more racing action,” said Trish Frohman, executive vice president of Turner Sports sales. “We’re thrilled to bring back this exciting race presentation and continue to offer our advertising partners innovative concepts that showcase their brand and tell their story with dynamic flair.”
The network’s race coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. ET with the NASCAR Live pre-race show hosted by Marc Fein with analysts Kyle Petty and Larry McReynolds, followed by the Allstate Countdown to Green at 7:30 p.m. ET with Bill Weber, Wally Dallenbach and Petty with reports from pit reporters Marty Snider, Matt Yocum, Ralph Sheheen and Lindsay Czarniak. The race will begin at 8 p.m. ET with a brief Wide Open Coverage introduction by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Tony Stewart, Jamie McMurray and Greg Biffle.
Source: TNT
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