Key Takeaways
- TNN consolidates school-by-school sponsorships into one national platform spanning 140+ DMAs, built on the Neptune GameTime software schools already use.
- The core product is in-venue audio ads delivered live during games, paired with demographic and attendance data.
- Ad revenue is split 50/50 between TNN and partner schools.
- Middle school coverage lets colleges and trade schools reach prospective students up to six years before graduation.
On any given week across the country, high school sports venues fill with families, students, and local supporters rallying behind their teams. It’s one of the most engaged and loyal audiences in the United States, yet for years it has remained largely inaccessible to advertisers at scale.
The Neptune Network (TNN) is aiming to change that.
TNN recently launched a newly enhanced national advertising platform designed to connect brands, colleges, and organizations with audiences attending live high school sporting events across the country. Built on its existing Neptune GameTime software infrastructure, the platform transforms a traditionally fragmented local sponsorship model into a centralized media network.
For decades, advertisers interested in high school sports faced a difficult reality: reaching these audiences required negotiating sponsorships on a school-by-school, market-by-market basis. While the audience itself was substantial, with hundreds of millions of fans attending games annually, the lack of unified infrastructure made large-scale campaign execution inefficient and difficult to manage.
“For years, brands have recognized the value of local high school sports but have lacked a way to access that audience beyond individual school sponsorships,” said Eric Jontra, TNN President. “The Neptune Network changes that by offering a single platform to activate campaigns across communities nationwide.”
TNN’s platform addresses that challenge by allowing advertisers to activate campaigns across a wide network of partner schools and sporting events through a single system. Leveraging a platform the schools are already using, Neptune GameTime, TNN now supports campaign execution across more than 140 designated market areas (DMAs), combining national reach with local community engagement.
The platform’s offering centers around in-venue audio advertising, delivering commercial messages directly to audiences during live sporting events. Unlike digital advertising or traditional banner advertisements, where brands compete for limited attention spans, these placements reach attendees in real time within an environment already built around engagement and community participation.
In addition to campaign delivery, TNN provides advertisers with detailed attendance and demographic insights across partner locations, enabling brands to target specific markets while managing campaigns through a single centralized platform.
Among the platform’s core capabilities are:
- National scale with localized community impact
- Centralized campaign execution across 140+ DMAs
- Access to detailed demographic and attendance data
- Brand-safe placements within family-friendly environments
- In-venue audio commercials delivered to captive audiences
Beyond the advertising benefits for brands, TNN’s model is also designed to directly support the schools participating in the network. Revenue generated through advertising campaigns is shared equally between TNN and partner schools, creating a new revenue source for athletic departments and student programs.
The revenue-share structure allows schools to benefit financially from the audiences they already attract each week while maintaining the local atmosphere and traditions that make high school sports unique. For many schools, those additional funds can help offset operational costs, support facility improvements, purchase equipment, and enhance the overall student-athlete experience.
TNN creates a model where everyone benefits. Brands gain access to highly engaged local audiences, while schools also receive meaningful revenue to support their programs and communities. That shared value is what makes the network sustainable in the long term.
One of the biggest advantages of advertising within high school sports is what TNN refers to as “The Support Factor” a level of community connection that traditional professional and college sports advertising often cannot replicate. According to the Youth Sports Business Report, 80% of parents view brands more favorably when they support local teams. Rather than being seen as just another advertiser, brands participating through TNN become visible supporters of local schools and student-athletes. That connection creates a different kind of return on investment, where advertising dollars not only build brand awareness but also strengthen community relationships.
The platform also creates opportunities beyond traditional consumer advertising. Colleges and universities, for example, can use the network to build long-term visibility with prospective students and their families by maintaining a consistent presence at local sporting events throughout the school year. Because many GameTime partners use their system for middle school athletics, colleges and trade schools can start reaching prospective students and their families up to six years before they graduate from high school.
“This is about more than advertising, it’s about helping brands become part of communities,” said Eric Jontra. “We’re giving brands the ability to show up where families gather in a way that is both meaningful and scalable.”
The Neptune Network website offers advertisers a streamlined way to explore campaign opportunities and activate across the network.
As advertisers continue to search for alternatives beyond high-cost professional and college sports, high school sports are emerging as a powerful new media environment, one built on community, consistency, and live engagement. TNN is the infrastructure designed to bring that opportunity to scale.
For more information, visit The Neptune Network.
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