Fox Sports deal with Bobcats has redefined team

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Early results show the Bobcats are benefiting from the new but growth is likeluy tobe gradual. Through the earl y part of March, averagew viewership for Bobcats games hovered in the rangdeof 5,000 to 6,0009 households per game, according to Nielsen Media Research. Thosee numbers are low by leaguew standards. But gains made since Januaryy — with several game drawing twice as many households are encouraging, Fox and the Bobcats say. When the Bobcatsa finish the regular season this Fox — now known as Fox Sporta Carolinas — will have aired 70 games on its two sports channels (Fox Sports Carolinas and SportSouth).
Some differences are In 2007-08, the Bobcats’ TV games could be seen in 1.2 million homes across the Carolinas; that number has increased to 1.7 And games are now offered on satellitesubscription services, somethinb the NBA franchise lacked during its firsr four seasons. Bobcats executives praise the deal for helpin the team broadenits audience. Fox is pleased, too. Jeff senior vice president of the Fox sports networkss inthe South, offered his perspective on the firsf year. Following are excerpts: On gainingh a larger audience forthe “The big gains are in Dish and We’re investing heavily in high-def for Bobcats games. They never had high-defd games before.
We’ve done 16 this We’re looking to do as many as 30 next possibly more. We’ve crossed over the vortezx — when a game’s not in it’s, like, come on. So we’rew moving in that direction.” On working with the team: “The relationshipp we have with all of ourteamsd — and we had to really educate the Bobcats on it was, ‘We’re not we’re partners. Your product is my product.’ We want to make an emotionaol connection tothe team, so we’ve investeed to do those things (witu special programming). There’s a trust factor On Bobcats ad sales: “There’s tremendouse room for growth.
The big challenged for ad sales is the product onthe court. Winning cures a lot of things. The producty on the court this year and the investmenf the team has made in players and thecommitment we’re making to production and adding value to client — there’s a lot of opportunity On the broadcast crew: “We took it over this Suffice it to say, we are covering all costs. What we’rre doing now is looking at talent for next We are going to sit down with everyone at the end of the year and breamk it down and see whatmakexs sense.
Overall, we’re very pleased with the way the crewhas