Virgin Radio Secures The Times For Sports Sponsorship

Virgin Radio has secured The Times as the first ever sponsor of its daily sports bulletins.

The deal, which begins in the New Year, will cover the sports bulletins on Virgin’s Pete & Geoff Breakfast Show, the Daryl Denham Drivetime Show and the Saturday Virgin Radio Rock n’ Roll Football Show until June 2003.

Commenting on the deal, The Times brand manager, Rob Painter, said: “The sponsorship with Virgin will enable us to convey the breadth and depth of The Times sports writers, and further strengthen people’s associations with The Times as the leading newspaper for sports coverage.”

Michael Holt, acting head of sponsorship, at Virgin Radio added: “Virgin Radio has a sports obsessed audience and we wanted a sponsor who loves sport as much as we do. The Times has proved its commitment to sport with extensive quality daily coverage.”

Earlier this month Virgin Radio announced plans to run a week long campaign for Microsoft to encourage families to consider buying a PC or upgrading their existing machine in the run up to Christmas (see Virgin Radio Secures Festive Microsoft Deal).

The latest RAJAR data for the third quarter of 2002 reveals a disappointing period for Virgin Radio AM, which has seen its weekly reach decline by 18.7% year on year to 2,247,000, down from 2,764,000.

Virgin Radio: 020 7434 1215 www.virginradio.co.uk

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