Pushing ‘A’ Positions, Not Bells & Whistles

Today’s Jack Myers Media Business Report has some interesting tidbits about FNC’s upfront plans.
Referring to the Upfront party gifts other networks distribute, Paul Rittenberg, SVP of sales for Fox News Channel, laughs: “I can’t win the iPod give-away competition but we are giving away a key chain with a bell and whistle. We’re telling advertisers and buyers if they want bells and whistles with their media buy they’ll have to go somewhere else. If they want a large engaged audience to see their commercials in an ‘A’ position, they should use Fox News.”

What’s the A position all about? He explains: “We actually run commercials in ‘A’ positions. There are a number of networks that run promotion spots in the first and last positions of commercial pods. In our ‘A’ positions, 92 percent are ads. There’s no question that a fair percentage of ‘A’ positions impacts advertising recall.”

> Also: Rittenberg wants to attract advertisers to Fox & Friends as a “viable alternative” to overpaying for the broadcast morning shows…