Cadbury To End Coronation Street Sponsorship Deal

Cadbury is to end its £10 million a year sponsorship deal with Coronation Street after 10 years, saying that it wants to look at new opportunities for the brand.

According to reports in the trade press, Cadbury’s current two year deal with Coronation Street runs out at the end of 2007, although the confectionary giant has agreed with ITV that if a new sponsor is found before then it would end its involvement earlier.

A spokesman for Cadbury said: “Ten years is an awful long time for a sponsorship deal. Right now, we felt it didn’t meet the needs of our marketing strategy.”

The ending of the deal comes at an uncertain time for ITV, as it looks to find a new CEO (see ITV Board To Review Chief Exec Shortlist This Week) and deal with a possible merger proposal from cable giant NTL (see NTL Telewest Could Merge With ITV).

ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com