Social Media Release - The New Official Beer of the NHL

For beer brands, only the Olympics is more important than the NHL in terms of sponsorship rights for high-profile events. Not only are the official sponsors of the NHL the only ones able to sell their beer at stadiums and market to fans watching the games, but they also gain access to key League events, such as the NHL Face-Off™, NHL Winter Classic®, NHL Heritage Classic™, NHL All-Star and the highly rated Stanley Cup. A sponsorship deal also provides the brand with opportunities to engage fans online, through NHL.com, NHL Network™, NHL Mobile™ and NHL Social. 

For the last ten years Labatt had been the official beer of the NHL and they were in the process of negotiating an agreement with the NHL to continue their sponsorship until 2014. However on February 22^nd, the NHL announced that Molson Coors (NYSE: TAP) in Canada and MillerCoors in the U.S were to replace Labatt as the official beer of the NHL, starting in the 2011-2012 NHL season. According to Marketing Magazine, this “monster” deal cost slightly more than US$375 million, believed to be the largest in league history.

Read Labatt’s response in the social media release below.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Share|

Client contact:
Catherine Pringle
416-361-5247
catherine.pringle@labatt.com

Labatt Breweries sponsorship agreement with THE NHL terminated

Molson Coors in Canada and MillerCoors in the US to replace Labatt as official sponsors of the NHL

TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2011

CORE FACTS

• The National Hockey League has informed Labatt Breweries of Canada it intends to terminate their sponsorship agreement as of June 2011.
• Before the relationship was terminated, Labatt had been the official beer sponsor of the NHL in Canada for more than 10 years.
• The National Hockey League and Labatt Breweries had been negotiating the conditions of renewing the sponsorship for months and had agreed on continuing it until 2014.
• Labatt's sibling Anheuser-Busch and its Bud Light brand have a long hockey history and currently sponsor 22 of the 24 NHL teams based in the United States. 

Charlie Angelakos, Labatt Vice President, Corporate Affairs: 

"We have an agreement with the league and are pursuing all legal remedies available to us to enforce this agreement. Bud and hockey belong together and we will pursue our case aggressively."

"Budweiser and hockey are a natural fit and in addition to the league sponsorship, we are actively looking for opportunities on a team and grass-roots level to reinforce that connection."

View News Release

More multimedia available by request

RELEVANT COVERAGE TO-DATE

February 28, 2011 - Molson, Labatt and the stakes for NHL beer sponsorship

February 25, 2011 - NHL Snubs Labatt Breweries With Surprise Beer Sponsorship

February 23, 2011 - Labatt Objects to Molson Coors' NHL Sponsorship

February 22, 2011 - Labatt dropping the gloves with Molson over NHL rights

February 22, 2011 - Molson Canadian named 'Official beer of the NHL' in new landmark league deal

BOILERPLATE

About Labatt Breweries of Canada

Since its founding in 1847, Labatt has become an internationally renowned brewer.  Today, Labatt is a proud member of AB InBev, producing over 60 quality beers, employing 3,000 Canadians, and operating six breweries from coast to coast. For more information about Labatt Breweries of Canada visit: www.labatt.com.  

About the NHL
The National Hockey League, founded in 1917, is the second-oldest of the four major professional team sports leagues in North America.  Today, the NHL consists of 30 Member Clubs, each reflecting the League's international makeup, with players from more than 20 countries represented on team rosters. The NHL entertains more than 250 million fans each season in-arena and through its partners in national television (VERSUS, NBC, TSN, CBC, RDS, RIS, ESPN America, ASN and NHL Network™) and radio (NHL Radio™, Sirius XM Satellite Radio and XM Canada). For more information on the NHL, visit www.NHL.com

RSS Feed to Labatt Breweries of Canada's News Releases

Bookmark this on Delicious

Technorati tags: NHL, Labatt Breweries, Molson Canadian, beer, alcohol

del.icio.us tags: NHL, Labatt Breweries, Molson Canadian, beer, alcohol