While COVID-19 has dramatically altered the media landscape, we’ve noticed a trend in the innovative responses from several of our partners.
In April, SpotX teamed up with media owners worldwide to run video PSAs created by Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization in place of ads on partner platforms. The PSAs ran on inventory donated by SendtoNews, appearing on hundreds of publishing partner sites and reaching local audiences across the country.
The NFL family has raised more than $100 million to benefit COVID-19 relief across America, nearly $6 million of which was raised by the first-ever Draft-A-Thon in April.
The NFL streamed the event across multiple video platforms, including over 130 SendtoNews publishers. In total, the SendtoNews online video platform delivered over 1700 hours of viewing time for the NFL Draft-A-Thon Live Stream.
The three-day event raised funds in support of the American Red Cross, CDC Foundation, Feeding America, Meals on Wheels, the Salvation Army and the United Way. In additions, Draft-A-Thon LIVE paid tribute to healthcare workers, first responders and others on the front lines.
And that’s not all—televised golf returned on May 17 with a charity skins game that saw Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson tee off against Rickie Fowler and Mathew Wolff at Seminole Golf Club. Through a partnership with GoFundMe, fans at home could contribute to the fundraising efforts through online donations and text-to-give options. In total, the PGA family raised over $1,850,000 for COVID-19 relief.
The following week, Capital One’s The Match saw golf icons Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson return for a rematch for charity, joined by NFL legends Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. The match ultimately raised over $20 million for COVID-19 relief.
The PGA PLAYERS Championship was one of the first major tournaments to announce cancellations in March. These recent matches herald the much-awaited restart of the golf season, which is scheduled to be back with the Charles Schwab Challenge on June 11-14 at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. SendtoNews is excited to deliver this new PGA Tour content to our publishing partners and their readership.
In addition to helping get the message out through events like the Draft-A-Thon and PSAs running on inventory donated by STN, initiatives such as our dedicated COVID-19 player and Reliving Sports have helped our partners keep their audiences informed while streamlining workflow and generating revenue no matter what challenges come their way.
STN has always done our best for publishers and their audiences, and we’re proud to partner with organizations that are contributing to relief efforts. A huge thank you to to these organizations for including STN in their efforts to support their communities!