Columnist Questions Sports Sponsorships, Wondering If They Have Gone Too Far

Writing under the headline "Sports sponsorship has gone too far," the London GUARDIAN's Nick Evershed opined "I would hazard a guess that sponsorship and advertising around sports events is higher than its ever been." It is "worth big money." A report in June found sport sponsorship in Australia is worth around $735M per year. We are "bombarded with brands in areas that were previously virgin territory." Sports codes "have people whose sole job it is to sit around and think of things that aren’t sponsored, and for which they can sell sponsorship for." Perhaps "the urinals at the MCG could be brought to you after a quick message from our sponsor?" Does "all this sponsorship and advertising matter? I’d rather the NRL get money from sponsorships than pokies if I had a choice." And keeping the games on free-to-air TV "is a good thing for fans, and advertising and sponsorship are obviously needed to support this." However, "I do think there should be a line drawn somewhere" (GUARDIAN, 7/9).