The SGMA Spring Market was seen on TV by the general public from coast to coast through a Satellite Media Tour (SMT). In order to generate attention for the sporting goods industry, the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA) conducted an SMT — “live” from the show floor of SGMA Spring Market — on Tuesday, June 12.

The host of the tour was Mike May, SGMA’s director of media relations. That morning, he was interviewed on more than 30 morning (and midday) television and radio news programs across the country. During each segment, May showcased the latest product introductions in the sporting goods industry. The length of the interviews ranged three to seven minutes.

Accepting the feeds were ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, and Warner Brother affiliates of local television news stations. Stations from Miami (WTVJ-NBC) to Honolulu (KHON-FOX) booked this tour. There were also four national interviews on radio – on USA Radio Network, Good News Broadcast, and two on the Health Radio Network.

The first interview was on the USA Radio Network at 3:00 am (Pacific) on Tuesday, June 12. The first TV interview was on WGHP (FOX affiliate; Greensboro, NC) at 3:20 am (Pacific)/6:20 am (Eastern). The last interview was more than six hours later at 9:45 am (Pacific) – on WPTV (NBC affiliate; West Palm Beach, FL). In between, a number of local television stations accepted the interview. Some of those major cities included Indianapolis (WXIN-FOX), Denver (KUSA-NBC), Tucson (KGUN-ABC), San Diego (XETV-FOX), Phoenix (KPNX-NBC), Las Vegas (KLAS-CBS), Jacksonville (WTLV-NBC), Albuquerque (KRQE-CBS), among others. In all, more than one million people in the U.S. watched and listened to those interviews.

“The dynamic aspect of a Satellite Media Tour is that we can utilize satellite technology in order to make a live connection with local television news programs in the U.S.,” said SGMA President Tom Cove. “Generally speaking, local television stations don’t send news crews to trade shows. Still, they are always very interested in the sporting goods business and what was specifically on display at SGMA Spring Market. This is a unique service of SGMA. We have the ability and personnel to deliver this kind of publicity and generate exposure at a major industry event.”

Also appearing alongside May was Everlast’s boxing trainer/fitness guru Cary Williams-Nunez who shared a few fitness tips on shadow boxing for viewers and listeners.

This was the seventh SMT produced by SGMA since January of 2003 – and the fifth one from a trade show.