By Katie RessmeyerThe Daily Northwestern
Beer advertisements have become as synonymous with American televised sports as the Super Bowl.
Sixty percent of alcohol ads are shown during sports programming, according to the Campaign for Alcohol-Free Sports TV.
But when viewers tune into the Big Ten Network, which is set to debut in August, they will not see any alcohol-related ads.
The Big Ten Conference decided last June to ban alcohol ads on the Big Ten Network, said Elizabeth Conlisk, the vice president of communications for the Big Ten Network.
The network will televise football, men’s and women’s basketball games and Olympic sports and other programming from each of the member universities. The Big Ten will be the first collegiate athletic conference to have its own national television network, Conlisk said.
Due to its national appeal, the network hopes to keep the station family-friendly. This consideration played a role when the conference decided to ban alcohol ads, she said.
The decision not to accept this genre of ads is also a testament to the Big Ten’s desire to control their brand and destiny on the new network, Conlisk said.
In a press release about the policy, Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said alcohol ads are not part of the image that the conference or its member universities want to convey.
The alcohol ad ban was one of the first issues addressed at a conference held to discuss the details of the Big Ten Network.
Ohio State University was the first Big Ten member to accept the ban, with Northwestern and University of Minnesota following closely behind.
The Campaign for Alcohol-Free Sports TV praised the Big Ten Network’s ban.
“It is good news that a major conference decided to forgo alcohol ads,” said Jeff Cronin, director of communications for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a non-profit organization heading the Big Ten campaign and other efforts to ban alcohol marketing directed toward youths.
As part of this initiative, the center began the College Commitment campaign, which urges conferences and schools to reject TV alcohol ads, he said.
“Young people shouldn’t be sent the message that athletic prowess is linked to alcohol consumption,” Cronin said.
To date, about 250, or about a quarter, of the National Collegiate Athletic Association member schools have endorsed the College Commitment, he said.
