-By Steve McClellan

With the new National Basketball Association Season just getting under way, Turner Sports is selling a newly expanded package of multiplatform NBA games and content this season and pitching it as the optimum vehicle for reaching younger men. A new print campaign (including in Mediaweek, Adweek and Brandweek) and face-to-face meetings with major shops are on the agenda in the coming weeks to ensure the agency community gets the message.

Advertisers on board so far include Hyundai, Autotrader.com, T-Mobile, Gatorade and Sprite.
According to Jon Diament, executive vp of Turner Sports Ad Sales and Marketing, hoops is pacing ahead of last season with sales so far, as the recession has eased a bit and top-tier sports properties remain in demand. He declined to discuss pricing, but sources said deals are commanding single-digit percentage increases over last season and in some cases high-single digits.

The company has a good ratings story to tell, with record ratings for the playoffs last season and a 38 percent jump in ratings (among men 18-34) for the first game of the new season.

The media company’s offering of NBA-related properties spans TV, online and mobile. In addition, Turner sells inventory for NBA TV, the league-focused cable channel that will feature a lineup of 100 regular-season and post-season telecasts this season. “More and more advertisers want an integrated solution,” said Diament. “Fans are increasingly obtaining their content that way. They’ll watch a live game, then go online to play fantasy sports and rely on mobile for breaking news.”

Andy Donchin, executive vp, director of media investments, Carat USA, said cross-platform strategies, like Turner’s, “help to reinforce the commercial message.” And, for the right client, the NBA is appealing because “it attracts a younger male audience, and quite honestly that’s not everywhere in television.”

The league itself, he noted, also has some compelling storylines this season, such as the Shaquille O’Neal trade to Cleveland and the comeback of the Boston Celtics.