By Matt Scott
April 27 – Tag Heuer has become the Premier League’s Official Timekeeper in a three-year deal announced simultaneously in London and Hong Kong. No official value for the deal was released but one estimate reckons it to be worth £7.3 million per season.
Premier League referees will wear Tag Heuer watches from next season while the brand’s logo will also be highly visible on the time-allowed boards – shaped like a Tag Heuer Carrera watch – held up by fourth officials after 90 minutes.
The UK and Asia are the Swiss watch brand’s principal consumer markets and the popularity of the Premier League in those territories made the partnership attractive to Tag Heuer.
Indeed, discussions first began two years ago, Tag’s CEO, Jean-Claude Biver, revealed, but were delayed until now to permit the incorporation of the sponsorship inventory into the new broadcast-cycle deals running for three years from 2016-17.
“Our partnership with the Premier League seals the important involvement in football of Tag Heurer,” said Biver in a statement. “We are particularly proud and pleased about this partnership as it will be key in the promotion of our brand and its football activities in Asia and in the whole world.”
The League’s managing director, Richard Masters, added: “Tag Heuer has a fantastic track record of investing in sport which makes it an excellent fit for the Premier League. We are witnessing one of the most competitive Premier League seasons ever which has provided a great platform for the League to develop this new partnership.”
The Premier League is replacing title sponsorship (the Barclays deal ends this year) with a raft of ‘official partners’. Barclays, Nike and Electronic Arts have signed up, and are now joined by TAG Heuer.
TAG Heuer has increased its position in football, building on existing partnerships with Germany’s Bundesliga, the USA’s Major League Soccer, the Chinese Super League and last week signing on for this summer’s Copa America.
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