In assessing the impact of the NFL’s new sponsorship with Chinese TV brand TCL, my colleague Terry Lefton notes there are two selling seasons for high-end TVs:
- December for the holidays
- January for the Super Bowl
“TV just makes so much sense for us and our fans, so we’ve been having conversations in that category for a few years," said Nana-Yaw Asamoah, SVP/partnership strategy and new business for the NFL.
The deal expands a relationship TCL had for NFL marketing rights in Mexico. The brand markets TVs up to 98 inches, along with a wide array of consumer electronics, including headphones (which is a vacant category after Bose departed last year). But this deal is restricted to TVs. Target and Best Buy are TCL’s biggest U.S. retailers. Garrett Hess at ProSport Management helped negotiate the deal for TCL.
Sources said a planned announcement of the deal at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was scrapped due to sensitivity surrounding the Damar Hamlin on-field cardiac arrest.
TCL is initially supporting the deal with an online sweepstakes offering a Super Bowl trip for two. How much activation it can muster before the Big Game is questionable. “We wanted to launch in time for our playoffs, but I wouldn’t expect full-fledged partnership support until next season," said NFL Director of Business Development Michael Minnella. “They are looking to us to help them with brand recognition and in showcasing their quality.’’
