Lagardère Sports "won the rights to sell sponsorships in Europe for this fall’s World Cup of Hockey," according to Ian Thomas of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL.
With the deal, Lagardère "will be able to sell the new digital dasherboard advertisements planned for the European broadcast of the tournament." The agency "also gains the right to sell on-ice and other in-arena spaces for the four scheduled exhibitions before the tournament’s official start." Those four games "will be held in the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Sweden." NHL Exec VP of Global Partnerships Keith Wachtel said, "The World Cup of Hockey is the event that we think will allow us to make major strides and really grow our business and fan base overseas. Working with Lagardère will help open the door for us to so many marketers in Europe." Wachtel "declined to comment on financial terms of the deal but said it provides the league and the union with guaranteed revenue."
Lagardère "will spearhead its operations out of its Stockholm office." NHL VP of Int'l Sales & Strategy Lynn White said that it "will have the ability to do both pan-European deals and more-targeted, territorial deals." White, along with NHLPA Chief of Business Affairs Mike Oullett and Chief of Global Business Strategies Sandra Monteiro, "will work with Lagardère on the European sales efforts."
The deal "came together over the past six months," with negotiations taking place between Wachtel and Lagardère Sports Americas CEO Andy Pierce as well as former NHL COO John Collins (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/22 issue).
