The NBA today announced it has renewed "three of its major long-term partnership deals" -- A-B InBev, Gatorade and AutoTrader.com, according to Clark & Vranica of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Gatorade "will have NBA advertising in Brazil, Italy and the U.K." as part of the new deal, while AutoTrader.com "will continue to be the presenting partner of pregame coverage" by TNT and NBA TV. A-B "will develop NBA-themed advertising and host fan events throughout the year." A-B Senior Dir of Sports & Entertainment Marketing Brad Brown said that the loss of 16 games this season due to the lockout "had little impact on the company's relationship with the NBA." He added that the new CBA "will help the company because teams will have 'long-term stability' and will be better positioned for advertisers." NBA Exec VP/Global Marketing Partnerships Mark Tatum said that the league "didn't lose one partner" because of the lockout. Clark & Vranica report corporate America last year spent $807.2M "on ads that ran during NBA match-ups" on nets like ESPN and TNT, and sponsors "who aren't league partners still buy plenty of television air time." Still, the lockout "could have some fallout on advertising sales" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/12).
