Feb 1, 2020 - Sports

How the promotion economy works at the Super Bowl

Slam Radio hosts speak onstage during day 2 of SiriusXM at Super Bowl LIV. Photo: Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM

During the week leading up to the Super Bowl, athletes and celebrities can be seen cruising "radio row," where they sit down with local and national sports radio shows to talk football and, more importantly, promote some stuff!!!

How it works: An athlete or celebrity offers to appear on a show. In exchange, the show agrees to plug whatever product the athlete or celebrity is promoting.

  • "In Washington, D.C., a quid pro quo is an impeachable offense. On radio row, it's the standard form of human interaction," writes The Ringer's Bryan Curtis.

Between the lines: There's an underlying order to it all, with guests getting bigger as the week progresses. A "Monday guy" is a retired player plugging a CBD company, while a "Thursday guy" is Dan Marino representing Marriott Bonvoy.

  • "Even the journalists are branded," writes Curtis. "Last year, a pitch email noted that the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport was 'prepared to discuss thoughts on Sunday's big game ... as well as talk about his obsession with Don Francisco's family-crafted coffee.'"
  • "Rapoport, by the way, was a Wednesday guy."

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Coronavirus dashboard

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  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 3 p.m. ET: 5,931,112 — Total deaths: 357,929 — Total recoveries — 2,388,172 — Map.
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  4. Public health: Louisiana Sen. Cassidy wants more frequent testing of nursing home workers.
  5. Congress: Pelosi slams McConnell on stimulus delay — Sen. Tim Kaine and wife test positive for coronavirus antibodies.
  6. Tech: Twitter fact-checks Chinese official's claims that coronavirus originated in U.S.
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Updated 6 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Twitter fact-checks Chinese official's claims that coronavirus originated in U.S.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian. Photo: Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images

Twitter slapped a fact-check label on a pair of months-old tweets from a Chinese government spokesperson that falsely suggested that the coronavirus originated in the U.S. and was brought to Wuhan by the U.S. military, directing users to "get the facts about COVID-19."

Why it matters: The labels were added after criticism that Twitter had fact-checked tweets from President Trump about mail-in voting, but not other false claims from Chinese Communist Party officials and other U.S. adversaries.

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