ITV2 Secures Movie Sponsor In Biggest Deal To Date

ITV2 has secured Western Wines as the six-figure broadcast sponsor of its entire movie strand, in what is the channel’s biggest single promotional deal to date.

The agreement will see the company’s Kumala brand sponsor more than 104 movies on the channel, including box office successes such as Gone In 60 Seconds, Mission Impossible 2 and Runaway Bride.

The deal, which was negotiated by Samantha Marsland at SponsorCom and Peter Manten at Carlton, represents a change of strategy for Kumala as it attempts to broaden its appeal beyond traditional ABC1 wine-drinkers.

Commenting on the agreement, Paul Sullivan, marketing manager at Western Wines, said: “I am absolutely delighted with the fit of Kumala and ITV2 Movies. It’s the perfect invitation for our audience to sit in front of the telly with their feet up, enjoying a bottle of Kumala.”

Zai Benntee, head of programme strategy for the ITV channels, added: “We’re thrilled that Kumala Wines will be sponsoring all ITV2’s feature films in 2004. This is a further tribute to ITV2’s ongoing success and we’re sure Kumala will derive excellent value from this association.”

ITV2, which recently launched a new on-air identity, has seen its share of mutli-channel viewing increase steadily over the last two years. Meanwhile, increasing competition has taken its toll on Sky One and E4 has remained relatively flat with the exception of periodical boosts from Big Brother.

The popularity of multi-channel television shows no signs of slowing and recent figures reveal that more than 50% of the population now receives digital television either through Sky Digital, cable or the recently launched Freeview digital terrestrial service. (see Government Faces Backlash Against Analogue Switch-Off)

However, the Government is facing significant opposition to its plans to switch of the analogue television signal by the end of the decade with more than one in ten householders refusing to join the digital revolution (see Government Faces Backlash Against Analogue Switch-Off).

ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com

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