This is a follow up to “New Fox Sports TV show produced by … Irvine HDTV maker?” which is about ”Vizio Pro-Files,” a new Fox Sports TV show produced in part by Irvine-based Vizio.
Obviously, it’s a change in strategy for the company, which has done a few TV commercials (featuring San Diego Charger LaDanian Tomlinson), but mostly relied on retailers, like Costco, and the cardboard box the TV comes in to spread the world about its products.
“Vizio Pro-Files,” which debuts at 11 p.m. Friday night, mentions the company at the beginning and end and that appears to be it.
In between, host Laura Okmin hangs out with today’s football’s stars, exploring their lives off the field. While I thought this would just be a 30-minute TV commercial for Vizio, the first episode has less product placement than a Hollywood movie. The Vizio logo and its TVs are used in the show’s introduction and ending.
Jason Maciel, Vizio’s director of marketing, said this wasn’t a new show Fox Sports created and then shopped around for a sponsor. It started with Vizio. Actually, Okmin approached Vizio and the two worked on it together to pitch it to Fox.
“We were initially approached by Laura Okmin and LO Productions (co-producers of the show), who presented us with the concept for the program. Laura helped us to reach out to FSN; she has a long -standing relationship with Fox and is a sideline reporter for several NFL games for them,” he said.
Here’s my Q&A with Maciel:
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Most consumers will agree that Vizio Inc. makes a decent HDTV that usually cost less than the competition. While the quality is debatable (let me reword this) not everyone is gaga for the brand, Vizio’s big pricing extravaganza begins right … around… NOW!
Here's a list of TV/mobile companies helping consumers one tweet at a time. 
