Sponsors dig in for Live Earth

There's never been a marathon TV event quite like this one. Rogers is the official sponsor on CTV, while Sympatico.MSN.ca's coverage is backed by Best Buy, Chevy and Philips.
By Jesse Kohl
July 4, 2007

CTV is calling Live Earth: The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis its most ambitious event ever, and the longest single program ever broadcast by the network.

CTVglobemedia’s broadcast plan includes 28-hour live coverage on CTV and more than 60 hours of additional coverage on MuchMusic, MuchMoreMusic, Bravo, Star and the CHUM radio network. Live coverage begins at 10 pm ET/7 pm PT on Friday, July 6, and continues until 11 pm ET/PT on Saturday, July 7.

The net is leading up to the live broadcast with a programming push on eTalk, CTV Newsnet, Discovery Channel, MTV, MuchMusic, MuchMoreMusic, Star and TSN, as well as CTV.ca, CTV News and Canada AM. Tying in with the FriendsofLiveEarth.org campaign (which currently has more than 7,000 registered friends worldwide), CTV is also promoting viewing parties and mini-concerts across Canada, as well as its own sponsored street party at Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square.

MSN’s international partnership with MTV is getting cross-promotion on the music net and the online hub, with heavy sponsor presence by Best Buy, Chevy and Philips. Sympatico.MSN.ca users (19.7 million in May, according to comScore Media Metrix) will be able to choose among eight live feeds from each of the cities where concerts are taking place.

Rogers is the official sponsor of Live Earth on CTV. Ad opps are available, as well as sponsorships for broadband content, which will include mini-documentaries and celebrity PSAs. LiveEarth.sympatico.msn.ca (or in French at LiveEarth.fr.sympatico.msn.ca) currently features sponsorship by Best Buy, Chevy and Philips. The site also drives users to MTV.ca for info on the net’s pro-social initiative, Switch.org.

Back in July 2005, CTV’s broadcast of the Live 8 concerts reached 10.5 million viewers – about 45% of all Canadian households. Last weekend’s Concert for Diana was watched in part by 2.88 million Canadians, with a peak of 913,000 viewers during the last hour. The event’s final six-and-a-half-hour average was 519,000. The net’s primetime recap was watched by 747,000 viewers and reached 2.6 million.