After canceling advertising two years ago, the Augusta National Golf Club and Masters Tournament is once again accepting sponsors.
ExxonMobil, IBM and SBC Communications have signed as television sponsors of the 2005 event.
After protests led by Martha Burk’s National Council of Women’s Organizations in 2003 charged sponsors with supporting the all-male membership at Augusta National, the Masters cancelled advertising for its U.S. telecasts. ExxonMobil, IBM and SBC Communications all sponsored the international broadcast in 2004.
“This is a great opportunity for SBC, as one of only three television sponsors, to effectively market our products, services and expertise to tens of millions of viewers,” said spokesperson Karen Jennings, in a statement. “In addition to the Masters’ legendary tradition and audience reach, we are pleased to sponsor a tournament that generates millions of dollars annually for charities.”
IBM was a Masters television sponsor in 2002, and has assisted with the Masters scoring operation for nearly two decades. Since 1996 the company has also helped the tournament in producing and hosting the Masters official Web site, www.masters.org. Both ExxonMobil and SBC join the domestic telecast for the first time.
As in the past, television sponsors will share four minutes of commercials per hour. In 2004, the Masters remains the highest rated golf event of the year. The tournament is viewed live or delayed in over 190 countries.
The Masters will be broadcast on USA Network April 7-8 and CBS-TV on April 9-10. The tournament begins April 4 with Phil Mickelson, who signed on as an ExxonMobil pitchman last month, defending his title.
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