Bowl Sponsor AOL Seeks Refund
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – The controversial Super Bowl halftime show, in which Janet Jackson bared a breast to the chagrin of the NFL, CBS and show producer MTV, has touched the world’s largest Internet service.
America Online has canceled plans to stream on-demand the halftime show that it reportedly paid $7.5 million to sponsor. The Time Warner-owned firm is reportedly seeking a refund for all or some of that money. Although AOL issued a statement distancing itself from what some government officials are calling a crass halftime performance, a representative declined comment on TW’s desire for compensation from Viacom.
“While AOL was the sponsor of the Super Bowl halftime show, we did not produce it,” the company said. “Like the NFL, we were surprised and disappointed with certain elements of the show. In deference to our membership and fans, AOL and AOL.com will not be presenting the halftime show online as originally planned.”
The $7.5 million AOL paid to sponsor the halftime show included several ads for its new TopSpeed service. The sponsorship, therefore, represents a significant discount to the $2.3 million CBS reportedly charged per 30-second Super Bowl ad.
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