Paul Schommer first reached out to Ariens for a personal sponsorship, which turned into a deal for the NGBGETTY IMAGES
U.S. Biathlon today will announce its second new sponsor in six weeks, along with a major expansion of coverage from NBC Olympics over the next four years. The NGB has struck a six-figure deal with Wisconsin-based Ariens Co., manufacturer of snowblowers and lawn mowers. Ariens was secured as a sponsor after biathlete Paul Schommer saw an Ariens device at a competition in Italy, took a photo and shared it with President & CEO Dan Ariens on Instagram. Schommer's request for a personal sponsorship turned into a deal for the NGB. It marks a big step forward for U.S. Biathlon, one of the smallest NGBs with a $2.6M annual budget mostly supported by USOC aid. “Ariens is far and away the largest cash sponsor we have,” said U.S. Biathlon President & CEO Max Cobb. The deal reaches a goal many U.S. winter Olympic sports bodies have: Sell sponsorships to American companies with major interests in Europe. Biathlon is a minor sport domestically, but it ranks second only to soccer in mountainous central and northern Europe. Ariens will get logo space on the U.S. team’s uniforms and hospitality rights at events. “Scandinavia in general is a huge market for biathlon,” said Ariens Senior Brand Manager of Marketing Stephen Ariens, who did the one-year deal that has a one-year renewal option. “It’s got a ton of snow, and for us to get a bigger brand name in Scandinavia is going really be really important going forward." Ariens sponsors the Packers and their Titletown development, the Patriots and some individual athletes in MLB and the NFL. U.S. Biathlon in September signed another deal with German outer wear maker Maloja.
NBC SIGNS INT'L BIATHLON UNION: Meanwhile, NBC Olympics today will announce that it has struck a four-year media-rights deal with the Int’l Biathlon Union. That includes 90 hours of coverage this winter, including the entire BMW IBU World Cup series and the world championships in March, including the Feb. 14-17 stop in Utah, the first IBU event in the western U.S. since '01. Coverage will be on the Olympic Channel, NBCSN and NBC Sports Gold through the recently announced “Snow Pass” service. “It really changes our profile, to have companies like Arians and Maloja really caring about our visibility in Europe, and in the US, to have NBC make a four-year commitment,” Cobb said. NBC Olympics President of Production & Programming Jim Bell called biathlon "one of the most unique and physically demanding winter sports, and it provides iconic moments at every Olympics."
