MLG Signs New Deals With Castrol, Bic; Nine Partners Renew

By Eric Fisher, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

Major League Gaming has signed new sponsorship deals with Castrol and Bic to join renewal deals with Dr Pepper, Old Spice, Stride, Ballpark, Bungie, GameStop, Hewlett-Packard, Ubisoft and Microsoft's Xbox 360. The seven-year-old competitive video gaming outfit will begin its '09 Pro Circuit next month in New Jersey, buttressed by a recently received $7.5M round of venture capital financing, and the sponsorship signings collectively worth an undisclosed eight-figure sum. "Given the challenges in the [sponsorship] marketplace, we're elated with where we are," said MLG President & CEO Matthew Bromberg. "But we've gone to significant lengths to quantify and explain the impacts our sponsors' marketing with us, and have made a specific point to overdeliver on value." Specific activations include Old Spice expanding its deal to include entitlements to pre- and post-match studio shows shown on the league's Web site, mlgpro.com, and Dr Pepper extending by two months its national distribution of Dr Pepper and Diet Dr Pepper bottles featuring MLG star Tom "Tsquared" Taylor. The promotion has seen more than 175 million bottles distributed to date. The property is continuing its search to replace MLG Properties President Harlan Stone, who left recently for the USTA. MLG additionally remains partnered with ESPN, with the two sides discussing potential distribution of MLG competition on ESPN360.com, Bromberg said.