AdAge looks into the Starbucks/Morning Joe $10 million sponsorship deal first reported Sunday night. Starbucks’ chief marketer Terry Davenport tells AdAge that $10M estimate is “way off.”

“Anyone who’s been following our measured-media buying would know that figure would be a significant chunk of our spend,” adding that the MSNBC deal isn’t among Starbucks’ biggest initiatives of the year.

AdAge also reports the partnership “appears to be the result of some schmoozing” after host Joe Scarborough casually dropped in to a meeting Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz was having with network executives.

Meanwhile, Jon Stewart had some fun with the deal earlier this week.

Clip after the jump…

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For more than a year, TVNewser readers have wondered whether the Starbucks coffee seen on the Morning Joe set was part of some product placement deal. The answer was always “no” — until today. The show and the the coffee company have formed a “marketing relationship,” in a deal estimated at more than $10 million.

“It’s been organic,” said Joe Scarborough on the air today during an interview with Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. “People have asked us for years, Howard, how much does Starbucks pay you to drink your coffee, the product placement is wonderful.”

“Coffee has been part of conversation for so many years, it was just a natural fit,” said Schultz.

CNBC’s Donny Deutsch, who was on-set, described the agreement between Schultz and MSNBC president Phil Griffin, saying they “sat down and hammered out the deal on a napkin.”

The deal includes using the words “brewed by Starbucks” on the logo and in teases, while cutaway shots of Starbucks logos on set were employed during the show. Already co-host Mika Brzezinski was having fun with the deal, introducing Newsweek editor Jon Meacham as “brewed to you by the Pulitzer Prize.”

One TVNewser reader, who questioned whether the deal was “crossing the line,” recalled a 1960s deal between Gulf Oil and NBC which incorporated mentions of the company during the Today show. But that was when the show was not produced by the news division. The ads ended John Chancellor took over and the program was put under the news umbrella.

MSNBC’s Griffin tells The New York Times’ Brian Stelter the program would still cover the company as news warranted. “They understand that we have standards,” he said.

What do you think? Vote below, and after the jump, the Schultz interview:


What Do You Think Of The Starbucks/Morning Joe Branded Content Deal?(polls)


Click continued to see the Schultz interview and MSNBC release…

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Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced the company would begin making instant coffee yesterday, and CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo had the first interview with the CEO at 3:40pmET. But on Fox Business Network this morning just after 7:30amET, Alexis Glick‘s interview with Schultz was called “first on” as well. Glick’s interview was taped yesterday, but not quite “first” like the large screen behind her (and multiple chyrons) indicated. An FBN spokesperson tells TVNewser the “first on Fox Business” was put up in error.