Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations LLC (BATO) is extending its term as the Official Tire of the National Hockey League (NHL), and will return as the title sponsor of the NHL Winter Classic outdoor game.
The tire manufacturer has renewed its title as the Official Tire of the NHL for five years, says NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.
The 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic marks Bridgestone's seventh consecutive year as title sponsor, further leveraging its commitment to the sport of hockey. In less than a decade, the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic has become a major event on the North American sporting calendar. Five of the six most-watched NHL regular-season games in the U.S. since 1975 are Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic games. The 2014 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic remains the largest audience ever for an NHL regular-season game in Canadian broadcast history.
"We are proud of our longstanding relationship with Bridgestone," says Keith Wachtel, NHL executive vice president of global partnerships. "Bridgestone has helped elevate the NHL Winter Classic into one of the most-anticipated events, not only of the NHL season but on the big event calendar. Sports fans can expect many more years of exciting and innovative activations across league platforms from Bridgestone."
Phil Pacsi, vice president of sports and events marketing and training for BATO says, "The partnership with the National Hockey League aligns the Bridgestone brand with a premier sports league and very loyal fan base, and it represents an important piece of Bridgestone's commitment to sports.
"We have seen tremendous results from both the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic and our season-long NHL activation. With this new agreement, we will continue to leverage this partnership to showcase our, and the NHL's, commitment to performance and innovation."
As title partner of the 2016 edition of the NHL Winter Classic, Bridgestone will receive on-air rights from League broadcast partners NBC, Rogers and TVA Sports as well as branded promotion in NBC programming; dasherboard placements for the Bridgestone logo in the NHL Winter Classic venue; in-venue video spots and PA announcements; and integration of the Bridgestone brand throughout all NHL media properties, including video, print, online and radio.
In addition, Bridgestone will expand its league support with partnerships with NHL teams, building its presence on the local level as well as the national level.
Bridgestone will further support its NHL relationship through a significant media commitment, including promotions across the NHL's media platforms such as NHL.com, NHL Social and NHL Mobile. The renewed agreement also leverages the NHL brand through use of league marks and collective use of team marks in Bridgestone's national consumer advertising campaigns.
