SBC Masters

SBC is now in elite company. Besides being one of the largest "tech" companies in the world, the second-biggest RBOC is about to get a whole bunch of attention as one of three new sponsors for The Masters golf tournament: After two years of commercial-free broadcasting, The Masters will now include SBC, ExxonMobil and IBM as sponsors, according to Hootie Johnson, chairman of the Augusta National Golf Club, which annually hosts the tournament.

Since SBC has never asked for my advice, I feel compelled to offer it now. Beyond the appeal of being among the few companies brave enough to weather the expected storm of criticism from certain women's groups over Augusta's men-only membership policy, SBC has a golden opportunity. In true lemon-to-lemonade fashion, The Masters could easily evolve into SBC's shining moment when it begins providing pay-per-view versions of the event over its shiny new fiber-to-the-node network. You want to watch National Council of Women's Organizations head Martha Burke's protest and its impact on the tournament? That will be $4.95. Want nothing but every shot by golfer Woody Austin? Crank it up and fork over another $4.95. With all the bandwidth FTTN offers, why not use it to its fullest extent?

Some will view the sponsorship as one chairman doing a favor for another. But many more could be seeing a new evolution in broadcast models.

E-mail me at vvittore@primediabusiness.com.