AT&T has informed the USOC it will not renew its sponsorship of Team USA after it expires in December, ending its 32-year partnership as official communications provider. Sources said the telecom category has become increasingly complicated for Olympics bodies in light of the rapidly evolving nature of the communications business -- including most notably new competition and conflicts between AT&T and Olympics broadcast rightsholder NBC's parent company, Comcast. Also, AT&T has been busy at the corporate level, merging with DirecTV in ‘15 and now planning a merger with Time Warner. “As the USOC evaluated sponsorship categories and AT&T evaluated its sponsorship priorities, we mutually decided to move in different directions," said USOC Managing Dir of Partnership Marketing Mitch Poll. "We have nothing but appreciation for AT&T and wish them the best.” An AT&T spokesperson said, "We continually evaluate our sponsorships as our business priorities evolve and adjust our portfolio to reflect them." AT&T currently sponsors key NGBs, including USA Swimming and USA Gymnastics. It previously has had deals with U.S. Figure Skating and USA Track & Field.
