Telecommunications

Sponsorship revenue for the Eredivisie, the top-tier league of football in the Netherlands, has continued to plateau for the 2014-15 season, despite the return of Dutch telecommunications company KPN and the renewal of two deals in the summer break.

The Pyeongchang 2018 Organising Committee (Pocog) for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games has raised its revenue target for domestic sponsorships for the Games following its first deals.

Supporting the brand outside of its headquarters in London is at the forefront of the telecommunications company BT’s sponsorship work, Richard Young, commercial director for BT, told Sports Sponsorship Insider.

The Lycamobile Group has this month expanded its sports sponsorship portfolio, announcing a new partnership with Powerboat P1 that will see it become the Official Mobile Partner to the race series in 2014 through its flagship brand, Lycamobile – the prepaid mobile SIM card provider for international calls.

EE beat competition from rival telecoms brands and brands from the finance sector to sign its six-year Lead Partner deal last month with Wembley Stadium in London.

US mobile telecoms operator Verizon Wireless has agreed to pay $12m (€8.6m) per year for the title sponsorship and ‘activation and media’ rights to the IndyCar Series, the North American open-wheel motor racing championship.

The Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games is struggling to reach its second minimum sponsorship target of $1.3bn (€950m), the amount required to operate the Games without further government subsidy.

Chinese mobile phone brand Huawei is investing over €1.2m ($1.6m) per year in new sponsorship and marketing deals with six Italian Serie A football clubs, including AC Milan.

Telecommunications company O2 is focusing its entire UK sponsorship efforts on its relationship with England Rugby and its Priority Sports programme.

Manchester United’s biggest regional sponsorship deal, with Saudi Telecom Company, is understood to have fallen in value by half when it was renewed this summer.

Serie A, Italy’s top football league, is understood to earn about €26m ($35.3m) per year from central sponsorship revenue, more than eight times the amount earned by the Italian second tier, Serie B.

Sponsorship revenue for the 2014 Fiba Basketball World Cup in Spain has passed the €10m ($13.4m) mark after the two most recent National Supporter deals, with private healthcare service Sanitas and mobile operator Vodafone Spain.