Swoosh Comes to Shove in Battle of Logo Visibility

If we learned anything from ABC’s prime-time “Battle at the Bridges,” here it is: Time is money ... and so are logos, if you can see them.

According to Sponsorship Research International, a market research company that measures media impressions, Nike was the show’s big winner with Tiger Woods. In the 2 hours 51 minutes 58 seconds of the broadcast -- not counting commercials -- Woods was seen in 17.8% of the broadcast, his cap was seen a total of 4 minutes 50 seconds, and that exposure was worth $106,333 to Nike.

“Obviously, Nike is still dominant, the swoosh is the most effective of all the brands,” research manager Sean Fisher said.

The study showed that John Daly’s logos were the least effective.

“Overall, Daly has a number of logos, just too much writing and in too small a place to be seen by the viewer,” Fisher said.

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The sixth installment of ABC’s prime-time golf, Monday’s “Battle at the Bridges” produced the lowest national Nielsen ratings in the series -- a 3.6 rating and a 6 share. That’s a 22% drop from last year’s 4.6, which had been the worst in five years.

ABC has one more year on its deal with IMG to carry the “Battle” series. According to Mark Mandel of ABC, the network isn’t that upset about the ratings, which have dropped four years in a row.

“We recognize it to be what it is -- a fun exercise and a summer replacement program,” Mandel said. “We’re always looking for ways to tweak and improve all our shows, and we’ll do the same thing with this one too.”

Mandel said it was too early to tell whether the network is interested in a new contract with IMG that would extend the prime-time series past 2005.

According to Alistair Johnston, co-chief executive at IMG, anything better than a 4.0 rating is good news, even though this one fell short.

“Was it a home run? No, but did it serve its purpose? Yeah, I think there’s some compelling viewing there,” he said.

Johnston also said that IMG and ABC representatives probably would get together in a few months to discuss a new contract.

“We’ve also got to take into account what ABC is doing,” he said. “There is some speculation that they are losing ‘Monday Night Football,’ so I wouldn’t know what ABC’s attitude would be for Monday night programming.”

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Ray Knight knew something was wrong when he had some chest pain while playing basketball with his daughter, so he saw a specialist who found a blocked artery. Even though he doesn’t smoke or drink and his family has no history of heart problems, Knight was told he had had a minor heart attack.

“I dodged a bullet,” he said Wednesday about his 2001 health issue.

Knight, the former major league third baseman who is married to Nancy Lopez, is talking about his heart attack for the first time as part of a program by drug maker GlaxoSmithKline to raise awareness of heart disease. The program’s website is www.backinfullswing.com.

Lopez, who was 17 when she qualified for the 1974 U.S. Women’s Open, has some advice for 14-year-old Michelle Wie.

“She is a great player and may be one of the best ever, but give her a chance to be a little girl,” she said. “Win a lot of amateur events and college events. Learn what it’s like to walk up the 18th fairway with the lead. It’s not an easy thing to jump out there on the tour and start winning.

“Playing with men, playing with the women, in the long run, that’s not going to help her, it’s probably going to hurt her a little bit. She needs to beat the hell out of all the junior players, that’s what she needs to practice.”

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According to ESPN, which ranked the top 25 sports moments in the last 25 years, Woods’ four consecutive major titles -- the so-called Tiger Slam -- is No. 1. Barry Bonds’ single-season home run record is No. 2.

Jack Nicklaus is fifth with his 18 major titles ... even though he won only three of them in the last 25 years. The other 15 came prior to 1979.

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When Vijay Singh won last weekend at the Buick Open, it was his fourth victory this season and he now has back-to-back four-victory years. The only others to do that in the last 20 years are Woods (1999-2003), David Duval (1997-98) and Nick Price (1993-94).

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Bob Knight, Jim Calhoun, Baron Davis, Derek Fisher, Elgin Baylor, George Karl, Mike Dunleavy, John Wooden, Ben Howland, Steve Alford, Jerry Tarkanian, George Gervin, Jamaal Wilkes, Rick Barry, Ernie Banks, Alex English, Orlando Cepeda, Jim Brown, Gale Sayers, Ronnie Lott and Dick Butkus are among the celebrities expected to play in the fifth Harold Pump Memorial Classic today at Los Canyons Golf Club in Simi Valley. The event benefits cancer care and research at Northridge Hospital. Details: (323) 866-6035.

The fourth H.O.M.E. celebrity tournament will be held Oct. 4 at Robinson Ranch in Santa Clarita. The event benefits Home Ownership Made Easy, a nonprofit corporation that provides housing for low-income people as well as family members with developmental disabilities. Details: (310) 258-4292.

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By the Numbers

How TV air time at Monday’s “Battle of the Bridges” translated to advertising dollars:

*--* Golfer Sponsor Valuation * TIGER WOODS Nike cap $106,333 Nike shirt $94,600 Nike gloves $367 HANK KUEHNE Adidas shirt $41,433 Taylor Made cap $33,000 Taylor Made bag $1,833 PHIL MICKELSON Bearing Point visor $54,633 Ford shirt $36,300 Titleist cap $5,133 Titleist bag $1,833 JOHN DALY 84 Lumber shirt $28,600 Dunlop shirt $5,867 Dunlop bag $3,300 Dunkin Donuts shirt $1,100 TrimSpa shirt $1,100

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* Sponsor valuation is commercial media value estimate for each sponsor given their legibility time, 30-second advertising spot rate and source discounting (a discount of 5-50% is applied based on the potential impact of the source on the viewer).

Source: Sponsorship Research International