Yahoo! TV to Promote New PAX Season
The television network aims to boost awareness of its upcoming shows through a sweepstakes and online advertising.
Broadcast television network PAX TV aims to boost its audience through an online marketing program it’s launching in conjunction with Web portal Yahoo.
Through the arrangement, financial terms of which were not disclosed, Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo will promote the network’s new season of programming, using its Yahoo TV area.
Visitors to the section will see ads for Studio City, Calif.-based PAX’s new series — “The Ponderosa,” “Forbidden Secrets,” “Ed McMahon’s Next Big Star,” and “Candid Camera” — as well as several returning PAX series. The ads link to a special page on the site showcasing the season’s programming lineup and schedule.
The front page of Yahoo TV also will aim to entice visitors to sign up for a “watch and win” sweepstakes, which offers chances at flat-screen TVs, DVD players and other merchandise. To enter, participants must watch PAX during the weeks of Sept. 9 and Sept. 16 for special symbols that appear daily, and enter the symbols at Yahoo TV or at PAX’s Web site. Winners will be drawn at random (and notified immediately) from those viewers naming the accurate symbol.
PAX, which is owned by Paxson Communications, said it plans to use Web ads, email, magazine inserts and direct mail to promote the contest.
In addition, Yahoo also will host a series of chats with PAX stars, including Ed McMahon, the cast of “The Ponderosa” and country rocker-turned-actor Billy Ray Cyrus, who stars in the series “Doc.”
“We are thrilled to kick off a long-term relationship with Yahoo with our highest profile event of the year, the launch of PAX’s fourth season on-air,” said Paul Wang, executive vice president of PAX TV. “Yahoo is a fabulous addition to our overall media effort and was the missing link to our broad-based promotional strategy.”
“We are extremely pleased to have the opportunity to use the promotional platform of Yahoo TV to create awareness for PAX’s terrific fall schedule,” said Doug Hirsch, senior director, Yahoo Movies and TV. “This agreement will allow consumers to learn more about the enormous amount of programming available on PAX and is an excellent example of how traditional media companies can work with Yahoo to reach new audiences.”
The agreement is the latest effort from television network owners to promote their upcoming seasons using the Internet. In April, The WB Television Network, owned by AOL Time Warner, unveiled a promotion with Gizmoz that saw the Alley-based startup developing a desktop application for fans of the network and its shows.
Earlier this year, Viacom’s CBS Television signed a deal with Web shop Worldwide Xceed Group to develop sites for programs including “Survivor: The Australian Outback” and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”. According to the companies, the deal also entailed Web sites for up-and-coming shows, but that status of that agreement is in question following Xceed’s bankruptcy and eventual asset sale to eSynergies.
