In December, when I review my favorite stories of the year, I’m pretty sure this one will be high up on the list.
Ralph Nader is ticked off at the amount of in-game ads during Yankees radio broadcasts. Really.
Richard Sandomir of the New York Times reports Nader sent a letter to the Yankees. From his story:
In a letter Friday to team executives Randy Levine and Brian Cashman, Nader listed 22 in-game ads that ran during the June 1 Yankees-Tigers game; he said they served to “disrupt the flow and excitement of the game broadcast and undermine your responsibilities as a guardian of the national pastime.”
Later in the story:
Nader cited ads that sponsored the pitching matchup (Chock Full o’ Nuts), pitch count (5-hour Energy), rally moment of the game (Rally BMW), game-time temperature (Peerless Boilers), national anthem (Mutual of America Life Insurance), call to the bullpen (Honda) and 15th out of the game (Geico).
Most of the ads, not surprisingly, strained to make a connection with the action on the field.
“Have you no boundaries or sense of restraint?” Nader wrote, in his position as the founder of the sports advocacy group League of Fans. “Have you no mercy on your play-calling broadcasters?”
At age 78, has it come down to this for the great consumer advocate? Complaining about in-game radio ads seems a bit trivial given all the other things to harp about in society. Then again, Nader always has been a multi-tasker.
As for the in-game ads that pollute games broadcasts everywhere, let’s be honest, nobody likes them. Not the teams, not the stations, and certainly not the listeners. Most of them are annoying and some are obnoxious. From the Yankees game, Nader notes this brutal ad:
“And the pitch is called a strike as he threaded the outside corner. And that is painting the corner. And painting the corner is sponsored by Certa Pro Painters because painting is personal.”
Nader does have a point, but here’s the bottom line: WCBS pays the Yankees $14 million to air the games. The station has to find a way to pay its bills.
Times are tough, you might have heard. The big-name sponsors are cutting back. Hence, stations are forced to wedge in the cheaper in-game ads to lure in the small companies. It’s called making ends meet.
Unless the teams reduce their right fees (yeah, right), listeners will have to suffer through more in-game ads despite the noble efforts of Mr. Nader.
Full disclosure: I am the co-host of a Saturday morning golf talk radio show on WSCR-AM 670, the flagship station of the Chicago White Sox. Have yet to receive a letter from Nader complaining about number of ads on our show.