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WTA Tour Retains Sony Ericsson Sponsorship In Restructured Pact
By Richard Pagliaro
(March 8, 2010) The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour has found a new global sponsor in its current title sponsor.
The Women's Tennis Association has retained Sony Ericsson as its lead sponsor in a restructured deal that will see Sony Ericsson step down as title sponsor and relinquish its role as title sponsor of the Tour's season-ending Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships, but retain its sponsorship role as a global sponsor.
The new, three-year deal runs through the end of 2012 and is worth about $9 million annually, according to a published report in the SportsBusiness Journal written by Daniel Kaplan.
While the WTA Tour announced the pact as a "two year extension to their existing partnership" in reality the two sides have restructured their current deal.
Under the new terms of the agreement, Sony Ericsson's name will be removed from the Tour's title sometime this year with the Tour reverting back to the name "WTA Tour." Sony Ericsson will remain a prominent presence at Tour events with its name and logo appearing on the nets of the Tour's 53 tournaments in 33 countries. Additionally, players who do not have existing apparel pacts that prevent patch placement will be required to wear a patch with the Sony Ericsson name or logo.
"Sony Ericsson has been an incredible partner for the last five years and this extension is both a real sign of strength and stability, and a testament to the investment value delivered by our players and tournaments," said Stacey Allaster, Chairman and CEO of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, in a statement released today. "We are very pleased that Sony Ericsson will remain our partner and we look forward to continuing to deliver to fans and taking women's tennis and Sony Ericsson to new heights through our joint vision for the future of the sport."
While the Tour loses a title sponsor and takes an initial financial hit from the reported $16 million it was set to receive this year, the restructured contract is still a significant win for the WTA Tour.
Amid a deflating economy when acquiring sponsors is a challenge — the ATP Tour has still not procured a title sponsor since Mercedes-Benz concluded its sponsorship run at the end of 2008 — the WTA has successfully salvaged its relationship with the mobile phone manufacturer and given itself options to mine more revenue streams.
The Tour can sell title sponsorship rights for its year-end Championships, which will take place in Doha this year and in Istanbul from 2011-2013.
"Our relationship with the WTA Tour over the past five years has been tremendously successful giving us significant international brand exposure and awareness," Aldo Liguori, Corporate VP and Head of Global Communications & PR, Sony Ericsson said in a statement. "We are delighted to be extending this relationship for a further two years as we take the company into a new stage of growth."
Under the leadership of then WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott, Sony Ericsson signed a six-year title sponsorship pact that was billed as the most lucrative sponsorship pact in the history of women's sports. There was growing speculation that Sony Ericsson would not renew sponsorship of the Tour. But on October 15, Allaster, Venus Williams, Melanie Oudin, WTA Tour communications exec Andrew Walker and Hall of Famer Billie Jean King met withi new Sony Ericsson president Bert Nordberg in Manhattan, according to the SportsBusiness Journal, and that meeting helped formed the foundation for the new pact.
"I've been playing on Tour for 15 years now and it's amazing to see how much women's tennis has grown in the last five years since Sony Ericsson has been involved with the Tour," Venus Williams said in a statement. "The value that Sony Ericsson brings to women's tennis is significant, giving us tremendous opportunities to market the sport and connect with fans in every corner of the globe."
Photo: WTA Tour CEO Stacey Allaster with Hall of Famer Billie Jean King (photo credit: WTA Tour)
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