2022 Q3 Cox Media Sports Preview

As we enter the dog days of summer, the world of sports will settle down for a few weeks before ramping back up throughout Q3.

In July, the NBA and NHL Finals will have just wrapped up, leaving the MLB as the lone “big four” sport in play (at least until the NFL kicks off in August). The first half of the MLB season started very strong as viewership grew almost 40% across the various Regional Sports Networks showcasing games. Cox Media has several opportunities across our national footprint where advertisers can reach the local and highly engaged baseball audience. With games airing across various RSNs, ESPN Networks, MLBN, TBS and FS1, there is no shortage of content for advertisers to engage with their target audience and paired with a digital campaign targeting sports intenders you’ll be able to further increase the value of your investment.

Throughout Q3 advertisers can also aim to reach the affluent and growing audiences accompanying the golf and tennis worlds. For tennis, ESPN networks will cover both year’s final tennis major championships with Wimbledon airing from June 21 – July 11, and the US Open airing from August 22 – September 12.

In the golf world, viewers continue to tune into the Golf Channel every week to watch professionals tee it up from Thursdays-Sundays. While events are played every week, the most notable remaining tournaments will be the Open Championship airing from July 14-17 and the FedEx Cup Championship consisting of four tournaments that span the month of August. While the PGA Tour season ends with the FedEx Cup, fans of golf are still able to tune into the action weekly as live professional tournaments are held essentially every week of the year – even during the offseason!

While we certainly love baseball, tennis, and golf, one thing all of Cox Media is excited for is the return of College Football and the NFL!

Beginning in early September, ESPN kicks off the college football season in a big way with big time matchups featuring teams like Florida, Texas, Notre Dame, and more. Throughout the year, college football fans can catch games every Thursday-Saturday across a variety of Cox Media networks including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, FS1, CBS Sports Network, FS1 and more (if you can believe it!).

The NFL also gets underway in Q3 with Preseason football kicking off in early August. As teams get ready for the regular season, viewers can watch teams get ready for the season with several games across ESPN and NFL Network. The regular season begins for Cox Media on Monday, September 12 with season’s first Monday Night Football game! In addition to the return of the popular “Manningcast”, Monday Night Football will also debut a monster announcing duo with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman calling games for ESPN all year long!

All in all, Q3 has many of live sports offerings for advertisers to tap into. Sports fans are some of the most engaged audiences available, and Cox Media is the place to reach them!