ITV Secures Michelob Ultra For Bike Race Sponsorship

ITV Sales has secured beer brand Michelob Ultra as the exclusive sponsor of the broadcaster’s forthcoming coverage of the Tour de France bicycle race.

The race will be aired in July and is expected to attract high ratings as cycling enthusiasts watch to see if reigning champion Lance Armstrong can win the event for the sixth consecutive time.

Michelob’s sponsorship includes credits on both ITV1 and ITV2’s coverage of the event, a range of branded promotional trailers and a dedicated Tour de France microsite available at www.itv.com.

The deal was negotiated by ITV Sales and Busch Media Group. Anheuser-Busch, owners of the Michelob brand are clearly hoping for an exciting tournament, pitching their 5% low-carbohydrate offering at avid followers of the sport.

Commenting on the sponsorship, Anheuser-Busch’s marketing director, Randal Blackford, said: “Michelob Ultra’s sponsorship of ITV’s coverage of the Tour de France is a great fit for the brand, reaching our target audience of adults who have an interest in watching sporting activities.”

The deal follows several successful sports sponsorship deals secured by ITV recently. Earlier this month the broadcaster announced information technology firm BenQ as sponsor of its dedicated Euro 2004 internet site (see ITV Nets Tech Firm For Euro 2004 Website Sponsorship).

The UK’s largest commercial broadcaster has also revealed huge advertising revenues from this year’s football extravaganza. 30-second spots cost between £250,000 and £300,000, with the premium for appearing during an all-important England game pushing the rate to around £350,000 (see ITV Sees Revenue Surge As Euro 2004 Approaches).

ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com

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