ITV Secures Nokia To Sponsor X Factor Reality Show
ITV Sales has secured mobile phone manufacturer Nokia as the exclusive sponsor of its new £10 million Pop Idol-style reality series, The X Factor, which launches on the channel this autumn.
The show will see Cowell join celebrity judges, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh, in the search for the next singing sensation. Each judge will adopt a group of wanabee pop-stars and will put their reputation on the line to get them to the final.
The sponsorship deal includes the full broadcast package on ITV1 and ITV2, as well as an extensive interactive television offering. Nokia will also receive off-air rights including mobile content, online activity and branding on the finalists’ tour of the UK.
The off-air licence will see the world’s leading mobile phone manufacturer support the main sponsorship with a wide-ranging through-the-line campaign including nation-wide retail marketing activity.
Commenting on the deal, Simon Lloyd, head of marketing for Nokia Mobile Phones, said: “This high profile broadcast sponsorship represents a new direction for Nokia and we’re really excited to be associated with one of the flagship shows of ITV’s autumn season.”
ITV will no doubt be hoping The X Factor will recreate the success of the last series of Pop Idol, which attracted an average of 8 million viewers to the channel in its peak Saturday night slot.
A peak of more than 12 million viewers tuned into ITV1 to watch Michelle McManus, the size twenty former events manager from Glasgow, win the latest series of Pop Idol. However, the figures were almost 2 million down on the audience that watched Will Young beat Gareth Gates in last year’s final (see Pop Idol Final Proves Bigger Is Better For ITV).
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