NetZero Signs 3-Year NBA Ad Deal

A 2-year-old Internet company based in Westlake Village said Monday that it will succeed Prudential Insurance Co. as the halftime sponsor of NBA broadcasts on NBC.

The three-year deal, believed to cost about $20 million a year, gives NetZero Inc. a high-profile platform from which to tout its Internet service. It is another example of how “dot-coms” are pouring money into advertising to promote themselves in an increasingly cluttered marketplace.

Dot-coms spent $1.4 billion in advertising during the first three quarters of 1999, according to Competitive Media Reports, an ad-tracking service. The trade publication Advertising Age recently estimated that dot-coms would spend $7.4 billion in 2000.

NetZero said it spent between $10 million and $15 million on advertising through September.

Brian Woods, NetZero chief marketing officer, said he hopes the halftime sponsorship will set the company apart from other dot-coms bombarding the airwaves with ads.

However, the National Basketball Assn. isn’t the advertising star it was before Michael Jordan retired from the Chicago Bulls in January. TV ratings for the NBA finals in June skidded 40% from 1998.

Woods said NBC has redesigned the halftime set, with input from NetZero, to give it a high-tech look. As part of the deal, which covers 73 regular season games starting Saturday and the playoffs, NetZero gets on-air billboards during the halftime report and two ads during the game.

NetZero, which lost $14.9 million for the quarter that ended Sept. 30, provides free Internet access to consumers who are willing to receive targeted pitches from advertisers.