NBCU Lands Major League Soccer Deal

• In its latest move to expand its sports offerings, Comcast’s NBCUniversal has landed the broadcast and cable rights for Major League Soccer. Terms of the deal weren’t made public, but a source told the Los Angeles Times that the price was likely around $12 million annually for three years.
• According to the deal, 45 MLS games will air on NBC as well as on Versus (soon to be rebranded as NBC Sports Network). The majority of the games will be on the cable network, but NBC will broadcast two regular-season games and two playoff games, plus appearances by the U.S. men’s team.
• ESPN will still be the primary home for MLS and carry most ofits major games. But the league’s new partnership with NBCU is a major blow to Fox Sports, which currently has the package on its Fox Soccer Channel, says the L.A. Times. One of NBCU’s biggest selling points was that Versus is distributed in close to 80 million homes, while Fox Soccer reaches only about 40 million. (www.adweek.com)

HTC to Acquire Majority of Beats, Maker of Dr. Dre Headphones

• HTC Corp., the Taiwan-based telephone maker, said Thursday it is planning to pay about $300 million for a 51% stake in a company that makes high-end headphones bearing the name of superstar music producer Dr. Dre.
• The headphones are made by Beats Electronics LLC, a venture involving Dr. Dre, whose given name is Andre Young, Interscope records and its chairman, Jimmy Iovine. Interscope is part of Vivendi SA’s Universal Music Group. The headphones are built for Beats by electronics company Monster (www.wsj.com)

Amazon, Skirting Apple, Announces Cloud for Books

• Amazon.com Inc. has become one of the first retailers to sidestep new rules for selling digital content on Apple Inc.’s popular mobile devices, a move that other major sellers could follow.
• On Wednesday, Amazon released an application that allows people to buy and read electronic books from the retailer’s popular Kindle store.
• The application, called the Kindle Cloud Reader, is accessed through the Web browser on a mobile device or computer, rather than through the kind of downloaded apps typically used with Apple’s iPad and iPhone.(www.wsj.com)

Groupon Bows to Pressure

• Groupon Inc. removed from its initial public offering documents an unconventional accounting measurement that had attracted scrutiny from securities regulators.
• The unusual measure, which the e-commerce had invented, paints a more robust picture of its performance. Removal of the measure was in response to pressure from the Securities and Exchange Commission, a person familiar with the matter said.
• In revised documents filed Wednesday with the SEC, the company removed the controversial measure, which had been highlighted in the first three pages of its previous filing. But Groupon’s chief executive defended the term Wednesday. (www.wsj.com)

A Familiar Brand Promotes a New Line of Cheesy and Easy

• IN a commercial for Velveeta Cheesy Skillets, a new line of just-add-meat pasta dinner kits by Kraft, a casually dressed woman in a suburban home says, “Let’s go, kids,” opens the front door and gasps.
• “Were you looking for this?” says a brawny 19th-century blacksmith who wears a leather apron and holds an uprooted metal box with wires dangling and “Order here” printed on it.
• “Seems the drive-through is closed tonight,” he says, raising an iron skillet and a box of the new product. “Instead — Velveeta Cheesy Skillets.” (www.nytimes.com)

AOL Shares Fall on Report of Weak Gain in Ad Sales

• Timothy M. Armstrong, the chief executive of AOL, is trying to transform the onetime Internet service giant into an online media company, but the market seemed to lose patience Tuesday, driving the stock down by more than a quarter of its value, from $15.07 to close at $11.19.
• The company reported a second-quarter loss of $11.8 million, or 11 cents a share, compared with last year’s second-quarter loss of $1.06 billion, or $9.89 a share, which included a write-down of $1.41 billion. Revenue dropped 8 percent for the quarter, to $542 million from $592 million.
• AOL did show a 5 percent increase in advertising revenue, to $319 million — its first increase in ad revenue since 2008. “AOL’s return to global advertising growth for the first time since 2008 reflects the hard work of our team and another meaningful comeback of the AOL brand,” Mr. Armstrong said in a statement. (www.nytimes.com)

DFB confirm extension of major Mercedes deal

• The German Football Association (DFB), the governing body of German soccer, have extended their long-standing partnership with Mercedes-Benz.
• The seven-year renewal of a deal which was set to end in 2012 will see Mercedes-Benz remain as the top-tier general sponsor of the DFB until 2018. It brings their commitment into the same timeline as that of kit supplier Adidas. Mercedes-Benz will retain the exclusive right to have their branding featured on official training and leisure wear for the men’s and women’s national teams. Men’s national team head coach Joachim Löw and general manager Oliver Bierhoff will act as spokesmen for the car manufacturer, who also sponsor youth development and are involved in the creation of a national soccer museum.
• Financial terms for the deal were not released, but reports in Germany indicate that it will have an overall value in the eight-figure range, with newspaper Bild speculating that it could be worth between €50 million (US$70.97) and €60 million (US$85.27 million). The DFB earns a reputed €50 million a year from sponsorship. (www.sportspromedia.com)

Yingli adds US Soccer to sponsorship roster

• Yingli Green Energy, the renewable energy company that has major deals in place with both Fifa and Bayern Munich, has signed a partnership with US Soccer.
• Yingli becomes the first official renewable energy partner of US Soccer and the national men’s, women’s and youth teams until the end of 2014. The deal, signed ahead of the national men’s team’s game against Mexico on Wednesday night, comes on the back of the US women’s team’s run to the final of the Fifa Women’s World Cup in Germany last month, and shortly after the appointment of former Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann as national coach.
• “Soccer is the world’s most popular game and we are extremely excited to be partnering with US Soccer, an organisation that has achieved tremendous success and similar global recognition in recent years,” said Robert Petrina, managing director of Yingli Americas, a fully-owned subsidiary of Yingli Green Energy. “We consider this association to be the best platform for building solar energy awareness across the country. We recently announced that we are on track to capture 15 per cent of the North American solar market in 2011, and today we’re reinforcing our commitment to build a lasting brand and a recognisable local presence.” (www.sportspromedia.com)

With Banner Earnings, Macy’s Turns Elves Loose

• Amid posting its best quarterly results in more than a decade, Macy’s is unleashing 10,000 wayward elves in locations around the country, with a contest meant to build excitement for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.
• The idea is that the retailer’s Elf balloons, which have been floating down Broadway since 1947, are in desperate need of a makeover. Called Macy’s Great American Elf Adventure, shoppers who locate one of the missing elves can give it an update. The winning entry will be transformed into a Macy’s parade balloon on the big day. (The Cincinnati-based retailer says the parade is expected to be seen by 3.5 million live spectators, and 50 million-plus TV viewers.)
• Macy’s is posting daily elf-finding clues and passwords via Facebook and Twitter. (Clues are also available by text.) Once elf hunters have guessed the location, they tell a department sales associate, and get their elf, which they are then allowed to decorate. In addition to elves stashed in stores, 10 cities will host Macy’s Elf-Apolooza events, including New York City, Jackson, Miss.; Los Angeles; Detroit; Greenville, S.C.; Des Moines, Iowa; El Paso, Texas, and Anchorage, Alaska. (www.mediapost.com)

What’s Behind Dannon Greek’s Oikos Rebranding?

• Why rebrand Dannon Greek yogurt as Dannon Oikos Greek?
• While the product’s formula isn’t being changed, with new branding — or at least new primary branding — new packaging and new marketing, it’s not hard to understand why The Dannon Company is terming this a “launch.”
• The explanation takes a little background. In the early 2000’s, Dannon Company parent Danone, the world’s leading yogurt company, acquired 85% of Stonyfield Farm, the New Hampshire-based maker of organic yogurts, smoothies, ice cream and milk. Stonyfield Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt was launched in 2007; Dannon Greek was launched in 2010.
• The Greek yogurt segment is, of course, one of the food industry’s shining success stories of recent years. As the Wall Street Journal recently reported, in the U.S. alone, Greek yogurt — which had a mere $60 million in sales just five years ago, now has sales of $6.8 billion, or nearly a quarter of the total U.S. yogurt market, per Euromonitor International. (www.mediapost.com)

N.Y.’s Hospital For Special Surgery, PGA Ink Deal

• The Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), a New York orthopedic hospital center, has signed as Official Hospital of The PGA of America. HSS will partner with The PGA on future health and wellness initiatives, including sponsorship of a program called “Let’s Move On Course!” launching at the upcoming 93rd PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club.
• The deal makes HSS the Official Hospital for events like the PGA Championship, 2012 Ryder Cup, Senior PGA Championship. The hospital is also co-presenting sponsor of the PGA Winter Championships.
• For “Let’s Move On Course!” HSS will partner with The PGA of America to distribute 25,000 branded pedometers to spectators on site, Aug. 8-14, at the 93rd PGA Championship. The program is designed to get golf fans to take to the course on foot, and keep track of their steps.
• The “Let’s Move on Course!,” which the PGA launched last year, ties into First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign to prevent childhood obesity by encouraging healthier food alternatives and greater physical activity for children. (www.mediapost.com)

KBB To Open Inventory To Aftermarket Parts, Services

• A lot of people who come to Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com), a new car and used car shopping and research site, are do-it-yourselfers (DIY), per the company’s own data. Thus, kbb.com is expanding its on-site advertising to aftermarket auto parts and services companies in the oil and gasoline, tire, repair, service, parts and accessories categories.
• Typically, advertising on auto sites is centered on OEM efforts targeting competitive vehicles, although within the maintenance sections of sites like edmunds.com there is, indeed, advertising for aftermarket companies like Armor All, and insurance from Liberty Mutual. However, Kelley Blue Book says putting these kinds of ads on the site’s main vehicle marketplace pages is a new tactic in the realm of digital third-party research and inventory aggregators.
• The company’s own research says 40% of the site’s shoppers consider themselves DIYers when it comes to taking care of their vehicles, according to Damon Bennett, VP business development and partnerships, who tells Marketing Daily that kbb.com has run some one-off aftermarket advertising in the past with companies like Pep Boys, Michelin, and Armor All. (www.mediapost.com)