NBC Sports Championship Season Will Be 'Moved by Pods'

Following last year’s stunning Kentucky Derby upset by 80-1 long shot Rich Strike, NBC Sports and moving and storage company Pods saw an opportunity. Pods is now the presenting sponsor of NBC Sports’ Championship Season collection, kicking off Saturday from Churchill Downs. The multi-faceted campaign, “NBC Sports Championship Season Moved by Pods,” will be featured across a collection of domestic and international sporting events marketed together. These include golf properties such as the U.S. Open and Championship, Tour de France, the Indy 500, the Preakness Stakes and tennis’ French Open. Kentucky Derby Horse or Ad Agency: Do You Know? A major component of the campaign, "The Big Move," has a natural sports tie-in and will be featured across all Championship Season events, though execution will differ. For the derby specifically, Pods’ "The Big Move" will sponsor the pre-race aerial breakdown of last year’s come-from-behind win by Rich Strike, who made a big move down the stretch to beat the odds. “Pods has been a partner of NBC for several years, and as their company has grown, they’ve leaned on us to help them find big audiences in unique ways,” Peter Lazarus, NBC's evp of sports ad sales, told Adweek. Pods will also present the aerial coverage of the Kentucky Derby throughout the day as one of its many content integrations. Other integrations include national linear and digital advertising, in-game features and brand/message inclusion throughout the consumer campaign. Though many consumers may think of Pods as a storage company, the majority of its revenue comes from its moving business. With the new "Moved" campaign, the goal is to further establish the moving business as part of its brand. “The reference point on it is that the Championship Season is Moved by Pods,” said Lazarus. “Often times it’s 'presented by' or 'powered by' or 'brought to you by,' but 'moved by' was a great way to link their IP and our IP together.” Even though the partnership kicked off with The Players golf event, the Kentucky Derby will serve as the main launch point. Pods will air branded creative across NBC, Peacock, USA Network, Golf Channel, NBC News programming, and social and digital platforms, as well as in-program features, brand advertising and billboards. At Churchill Downs, racing fans can expect to see dozens of Pods portable containers to help with on-site storage. “There's also the added impact of Churchill Downs being under construction and then utilizing Pods as a partner to help them store and ultimately move their facility,” said Lazarus. “We will capture that with both our aerial footage and these organic moments within the broadcast.” Big ad sales opportunities The derby is historically the most-watched event in May, and NBC has nearly eight hours of coverage planned this year. The event averaged nearly 16 million viewers in 2022 and 15 million over the past 15 years. Derby Day coverage will include nine races across NBC and Peacock on Saturday beginning at noon. And on Friday, a block of five hours of Kentucky Oaks racing starts at 1 p.m. on USA and Peacock. For the first time, Telemundo Deportes will present coverage of the Kentucky Derby, beginning Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on Universo. Though NBC Sports is always looking for new ad categories, Lazarus sees opportunities in live events and integrating brands into its properties in organic ways, especially as Peacock’s streaming audience is providing an unduplicated, younger consumer. NBC Sports has sold out the ad inventory for the Kentucky Derby, which Lazarus said demonstrates the continuation of advertisers supporting live sports. “We’ve seen demand across the board from various categories, from auto to packaged goods, to alcohol and beverage,” said Lazarus. “We have a host of new accounts, new people in the property, from insurance to pharmaceutical to sunglasses.”

Sports Marketing News

Exclusive: NBC Sports Championship Season Will Be 'Moved by Pods' Beginning With Kentucky Derby

The company has sold out ad inventory for the iconic horse race

Mollie Cahillane

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Mollie Cahillane