"Thank You, Fans! Love, FOX Sports Ohio"

Fans have always been the heart of FOX Sports Ohio and throughout the 2008–2009 Cavaliers and Blue Jackets’ seasons they showed their love for our teams by giving us some of the best ratings in our 20-year history. So in April, FOX Sports Ohio decided to give back, hosting our first ever “Viewer Appreciation Nights.” Viewers had the opportunity to watch and win fabulous prizes during the Blue Jackets game on Saturday, April 11, presented by Your Central Ohio Toyota Dealers, and during the Cavaliers game on Wednesday, April 15, sponsored by KIA.

How did it work? Each period/quarter, the FOX Sports Ohio broadcasters gave an on-air cue to enter to win. And on cue, viewers flooded the contest via text message or through our MySpace page. The results were amazing—over 16,000 text messages received during the Jackets game and 71,000 during the Cavs. The best part? Three lucky hockey and four stellar basketball fans walked away with some awesome prizes that included autographed jerseys and equipment, playoff tickets, and FOX Sports Ohio gear.

“As a network, we were thrilled with the response to our Viewer Appreciation Nights for the Cavaliers and Blue Jackets,” said FOX Sports Ohio Marketing and Communications Director, Alex Slemc. “We received over 100,000 entries combined for both nights—this shows the immense popularity of the Cavs and Jackets, our network, and the ‘text-to-win’ marketing platform. Those promotions established a high level of success which will allow us to do more creative and fun text-to-win promotions in the future.”