SMS Drives the Protest - Text-Messaging Helps Bring the Mets Back to NYC Cable Viewers

In an interesting use of SMS text-messaging, New York Mets and Knicks fans were sent SMS text-messages to enlist their support in putting MSG Network (MSG) and Fox Sports New York (FSN) back on cable television.

Boston, MA (PRWEB) April 28 2005 --- In an interesting use of SMS text-messaging, New York Mets and Knicks fans were sent SMS text-messages to enlist their support in putting MSG Network (MSG) and Fox Sports New York (FSN) back on cable television.

With tensions running high over the recent decision by Time Warner Cable to pull MSG Network and FSN off the air last month, MSG launched a grass-roots campaign to engage the support of Knicks and Mets fans and help restore their teams broadcasts over the TWC network. The effort began with the creation of a protest website www.givebackmsg.com, a place where fans could air their opposition to the TWC decision and also serve as a forum for discussion on the issue.

To help drive fan awareness and traffic on the protest site, MSG enlisted the assistance of Insite Media Group and Unwired Appeal to send SMS text-message alerts to an opt-in list of both Knicks and Mets fans. The opt-in list was developed during interactive SMS campaigns run for the Knicks and Mets by IMG and Unwired Appeal during the 2004-2005 seasons.

Our goal was simply to assist MSG in driving viewer awareness of the situation and let the fans know that they may be out of luck when trying to tune-into their teams games in the current and future seasons", commented Stephen Nye, VP Sales and Marketing at UA. And the opt-in SMS list we had was about as targeted an audience as you can get as it consisted of only die-hard Knicks and Mets fans."

The longstanding dispute began last summer and revolves around negotiations on programming fees. Cable and satellite companies must pay fees to channels such as MSG Network and Fox Sports New York to transmit their signals to consumers. While an interim deal was reached last summer, further discussions did not yield a long-term solution prompting TWC to pull the two networks from the programming schedule last month.

About Unwired Appeal

Unwired Appeal is a leading provider of mobile platforms and wireless application technology for the USA market. Products and services include Unwired Events Online, Adaptive Content Server, ZaptoPhone, UnwiredEmail, and WapBill. For more information, visit www.unwiredappeal.com.

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