TV commercials aimed at stopping cable piracy

Friday, June 27, 1997 | 11:16 a.m.

The Pay-Per-View Anti-Theft Task Force, an industry coalition working to eliminate cable theft, and Showtime Event Television (SET), will launch a powerful series of television commercials designed to stop cable piracy, debuting in conjunction with the pay-per-view promotion of Holyfield vs. Tyson II, the highly anticipated heavyweight championship boxing rematch on Saturday.

The commercials, which will debut during the prefight promotional pay-per-view telecast, highlight the moral dilemma that parents create for themselves by committing the dishonest act of stealing cable and pay-per-view services, while trying to instill a sense of right and wrong in their youngsters.

In the five spots, children speak to the camera about their parents, expressing admiration and the desire to be "just like" their mothers and fathers. The ads then dissolve to text and voiceover appealing to parents who are stealing cable services and asking viewers to consider the example they are setting for their own youngsters.

"Theft of services is a significant problem for the cable industry, especially during high-profile sports events like the Holyfield-Tyson event," said Mark Greenberg, executive vice president, corporate marketing and communications for Showtime Networks. "Running the ads is an excellent opportunity for us to throw our full support behind the campaign against cable piracy."

Advertising agency Amil Gargano & Partners Inc. worked with Jay Hassman, Cablevision Systems' director of pay-per-view marketing and task force advertising subcommittee chair; Donovan Gordon, SET senior vice president and Suzan Couch, SET senior marketing consultant, to create the $100,000 advertising campaign and develop a potent message to consumers that stealing cable television and pay-per-view product is wrong.

"This is a powerful counterattack against a problem that costs our industry more than $5 billion annually," said Greenberg. "Showtime Networks was proud to underwrite the campaign, and is extremely pleased to be able to introduce it during such high-visibility programming."

"We are raising the moral issues of cable theft for consumers, by asking them to view themselves through the eyes of their children," according to Hugh Panero, president and CEO of Request Television and chairman of the task force. "Dishonesty becomes more difficult to rationalize in that circumstance."

After the introduction, the spots will continue to air on pay-per-view networks, barker channels and on basic cable channels using cable operators local cross channels avails.

The Pay-Per-View Anti-Theft Task Force is a nonprofit organization composed of more than 50 companies representing all segments of the pay-per-view industry and committed to stopping pay-per-view theft. The Task Force works closely with the NCTA and Motion Picture Association of America. Funded with $750,000 in cash and in-kind contributions, the Task Force is currently working to implement several anti-theft initiatives to complement other organizations' anti-piracy efforts.