AdAge.com is reporting that Progressive has signed on as the presenting sponsor of Friday Night Smackdown on FOX.
The Progressive deal was negotiated by FOX Sports Executive Vice President of Sports Sales Seth Winter and he said that integrations will play a significant role in Progressive’s backing of the show, adding that the in-show features that will define this immersive sponsorships are likely to evolve over time.
Pizza Hut, Boost Mobile, Snickers, and Paramount will also feature heavily on Smackdown with Winter mentioning that these sponsors “will have a significant presence in the show that goes beyond paid units.” Tons of advertisers have negotiated deals with FOX to have their ads shown during Friday Night Smackdown.
FOX did not reveal the average cost for a Smackdown ad but AdAge estimates that a 30-second spot will probably cost around $92,000 for advertisers. Winter said that among the recent advertisers on the show, there will be 20 sponsors who never previously bought airtime during a wrestling show.
