Channel 4 has announced Lyle’s Golden Syrup and Dr. Oetker as the broadcast sponsors of the 2017 Great British Bake Off, set to return to screens this autumn for the first time since being poached from the BBC in a £75 million three-year deal.
The partnership, estimated at £4 million and brokered by 4 Sales with Lyle’s media agency m/SIX and MEC for Dr. Oetker, will include the Jo Brand presented spin-off show Bake Off: An Extra Slice, as well as festive episodes.
Although Channel 4 has secured dual sponsorship deals in the past, most recently for the Paralympics, it is fairly uncommon. However, given the relatively low cost of the deal, and if the audience figures can remain as high on C4 as on the BBC – 14 million viewers tuned in to watch the Bake Off final on the BBC last year – then it represents a good deal for the brands.
By comparison, TalkTalk’s 10-year sponsorship of ITV’s X Factor was worth £15 million per year.
“We’re looking forward to celebrating the nation’s love of baking with Lyle’s Golden Syrup and Dr. Oetker, for the hotly anticipated return of Bake Off,” said Jonathan Allan, sales director, Channel 4.
“We’ve had such a great response from a huge range of advertisers wanting to feature in the series and are excited about working with them all ahead of the launch of the biggest show on TV this autumn.”
At Channel 4’s annual general meeting earlier this month, outgoing chief executive David Abraham said the result of the EU Referendum had forced the broadcaster to dip into £15 million of its £215 million content reserves to fund events such as the Rio Paralympics.
While corporation revenue reached a record £995 million – up by £16 million on the previous year – Channel 4 made a pre-tax loss of £15 million in 2016 compared with a £26 million profit in 2015.
