MarketInk: Jamul Casino wins creative awards for Kumeyaay Nation documentary

The Jamul Casino Resort in East County’s Jamul community was recently presented with two American Advertising Federation (AAF) Addy awards, including a first-place Gold Addy and Best of Show Addy in the Corporate Social Responsibility category.

The awards were for “Water Sweet, The Story of Jamul,” an 11-minute documentary that covers the history, culture and resilience of the Jamul Indian Village of California, one of 12 federally recognized tribes that make up the Kumeyaay Nation of Southern California.

A statement said the film takes its name from the Kumeyaay word for Jamul, which means “water sweet.” “The film offers an intimate portrait of the tribe’s deep connection to its ancestral land, its enduring traditions and the community it continues to build today,” said the statement.

The awards were presented in March in Reno, NV, at the AAF Reno chapter’s awards dinner. Award entries were submitted for the AAF Reno awards program because film production was handled by two Nevada companies, a casino spokesperson told Times of San Diego.

“Water Sweet” was produced in partnership with Hey Frank, a Nevada-based advertising agency with an office in Reno, and Orangetree Productions, a Reno-based video production company.

“Our tribe’s story deserves to be told with honesty and care,” said Erica M. Pinto, chairwoman, Jamul Indian Village of California. “We’re proud that ‘Water Sweet’ accomplished that, and we’re grateful to our partners at Hey Frank and Orangetree Productions for the reverence they brought to this project.” 

“You don’t get many chances to make something that truly matters,” said Brett Rhyne, partner and creative director, Hey Frank. “‘Water Sweet’ was one of those chances and we didn’t take it lightly. Winning Best of Show is gratifying, but what means more is knowing the tribe felt their story was told right.”

Opened in 2016, Jamul Casino Resort is owned and operated by the Jamul Indian Village Development Corp., a wholly-owned enterprise of the Jamul Indian Village Tribe. In August 2025, the property was renamed Jamul Casino Resort with the opening of the $270 million, 16-story, 200-room luxury hotel tower. The casino features 1,700 slot machines, 50 live table games, a dedicated poker room and dining and entertainment venues.

The Addys are considered the advertising industry’s largest creative competition, with winners from more than 200 local professional chapters advancing to district and then national judging. As a Gold Addy recipient, “Water Sweet” will now advance to the national Addy competition, a statement said.

NBC 7 and Telemundo 20 offer grants to San Diego nonprofits

KNSD-TV/NBC 7 and KUAN-TV/Telemundo 20, two San Diego TV stations operated by Comcast and NBCUniversal, have announced that a record $227,272 in unrestricted funds will be awarded this year to eligible nonprofits in San Diego County.

Eligibility requirements included nonprofits headquartered in San Diego, nonprofits must help to resolve everyday community issues and the nonprofit’s revenue must be greater than $100,000 and total expenses must be between $100,000 and $1 million.

Grant categories include nonprofits involved in youth education and empowerment, next generation storytellers and community engagement.

A statement said the “youth education and empowerment” category applies to in-school and community-based programs that equip youth with the tools they need to success.

The “next generation storytellers” category includes programs that develop pathways for emerging talent and youth voices in explore careers in communications, arts, news, sports and entertainment.

The “community engagement” category includes programs that help foster community unity by enabling individuals to engage with a volunteer in their regions.

Grant application deadline is Friday, April 24. An informational webinar will be held at 10 a.m., Pacific time, on Tuesday, April 7. Grant winners will be announced later this year.

For more information and to register for the April 7 webinar, visit www.localimpactgrants.com, or the Spanish-language site at www.becasdeimpactolocal.com.

It’s the ninth consecutive year for the NBCUniversal Local Impact Grants program. An NBC 7 San Diego spokesperson told Times of San Diego the amounts awarded to local nonprofits was $227,000 in 2025 and 2024. In 2023, the amount was $225,000.

“We are excited to once again award San Diego nonprofits with these funds,” said Missy Crawford, president and general manager, NBCUniversal Local San Diego. “We encourage organizations in San Diego County to apply so they can continue to strengthen our communities.”

In 2026, the Local Impact grants program will deliver $2.5 million in 11 U.S. markets served by NBC and Telemundo, a statement said.

In addition to KNSD-TV and KUAN-TV, other NBCUniversal TV stations (call letters in parentheses) in U.S. markets participating in the 2026 Local Impact grants program include New York (WNBC, WNJU), Los Angeles (KNBC, KVEA), Chicago (WMAQ, WSNS), Philadelphia (WCAU, WWSI), Dallas-Fort Worth (KXAS, KXTX), Washington, D.C. (WRC-TV, WZDC), Boston (WBTS, WNEU), San Francisco Bay Area (KNTV, KSTS), Miami (WVJ, WSCV) and Hartford, Conn. (WVIT, WRDM).

Founded in 2018, the grants program has provided $21 million to 615 organizations, including 69 nonprofits that received $2.5 million in 2025.

Live sports accounts for nearly 30 percent of all TV viewing

A new report from ratings measurement company Nielsen illustrates the dominance of sports programming and the increasing reliance of broadcasters and advertisers on live sports to capture the attention of TV viewers.

During the 2025 fourth quarter, Nielsen said sports programming accounted for 29.2 percent — nearly 30 percent — of all ad-supported TV viewing among adults ages 25 to 54.

The 29.2 percent figure, a 9 percent increase from the third quarter, was attributed to NFL and college football viewing and Major League Baseball postseason, as reported by industry media outlets Marketing Dive, Deadline and Yahoo.

In comparison, broadcast TV without sports comprised 9.8 percent of the total viewership pie, cable TV without sports made up 18 percent and streaming TV without sports made up 43 percent.

Additionally, Nielsen said 81.1 percent of TV viewing for adults ages 18 to 49 occurred on TV streaming platforms, including YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Prime Video, HBO Max, Peacock and Paramount+, while the remaining 19 percent watched free, ad-supporting streaming platforms, including Ruku Channel, Tubi and Pluto TV.

The findings, released as part of Nielsen’s “The New Ad Supported Universe,” its 2026 upfront planning guide for advertising media buyers, also noted that ad-supported TV represented 74.2 percent of all TV viewing in the fourth quarter, its highest point through all of 2025.

Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly in Times of San Diego.