NCC Partners with DIRECTV to Integrate Regional Sports Offerings and Sales Efforts

Mon Aug 18, 1:54 PM

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NCC, the nation’s largest spot cable sales organization, has announced a breakthrough ad sales and technology partnership with DIRECTV (NASDAQ: DTV), America’s leading satellite television service provider. Under the agreement, NCC will integrate select regional sports network feeds, currently offered to DIRECTV customers, into cable advertising interconnects in nine major US markets. NCC will also assume national spot sales representation of DIRECTV’s Regional Sports Networks in these markets. The partnership was announced today by NCC President Greg Schaefer and DIRECTV Senior Vice President, Advertising Sales, Bob Riordan.

“This is terrific news for both local and national advertisers. Combining DIRECTV's audience with our cable interconnects expands our reach and strengthens our targeted offering,” said Schaefer about the new partnership. “And ad agencies benefit from the single point of contact we will provide both locally and nationally. Combining wired cable with satellite is a major breakthrough for the advertising industry,” he added.

Riordan commented, “The ability to leverage DIRECTV’s leadership position in sports programming with NCC’s regional and local sales expertise creates an exciting partnership and one-stop shop for advertisers. Working with NCC will give us an opportunity to expand our product offering beyond a national platform and give our advertising partners even more choices to reach their target market in a simple and seamless manner.“

Cable Multi-system Operator (MSO) sales and operations leaders worked diligently with NCC and DIRECTV to establish the new paradigm in this cable/satellite ad sales cooperation. Participating markets include Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

“Cable operators have made many advancements in working with NCC to offer truly effective planning and buying for advertisers who want to reach cable’s ever-growing audience,” said Charlie Thurston, President of Comcast Spotlight, who played a key role in the development of the new partnership. “And this ground-breaking announcement with DIRECTV signifies another major step forward in media sales.”

NCC
Nazzie Rab, 212-548-3369
nazzie_rab@spotcable.com
or
DIRECTV, INC.
Jade Ekstedt, 310-964-3429
jlekstedt@directv.com