Hisense announces three-year deal to sponsor NRL premiership
The sudden disappearance of the Holden brand put the NRL in a quandary over sponsorship deals. We now know who will take over.
Chinese electronics company Hisense will take over the naming rights to Thursday night rugby league games for the next three years.
The announcement comes after the shocking (but unsurprising) death of the Holden brand.
Holden previously held naming rights to Thursday Night Football and State of Origin, but marketing the brand didn’t make much sense after General Motors announced last month it would stop making right-hand-drive vehicles and therefore cease making Holden-branded cars by the end of the year.
That move is expected to cost GM more than $US1 billion ($A1.54 billion).
RELATED: State of Origin up for sale after Holden closure
This morning the NRL and Hisense announced they had come to terms on a three-year deal.
Hisense will be an official partner of the NRL premiership and have naming rights over Thursday Night Football.
Its also secured major partner rights to State of Origin for this year and next which includes “stadium branding, digital integrations and social media”.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with the NRL and bringing the Hisense brand closer to the NRL’s passionate fan base,” Hisense Australia head of marketing Andre Iannuzzi said.
NRL chief commercial officer Andrew Abdo said the partnership “reinforces the ever-growing value of NRL for sponsors”.
The Hisense name will appear on the first game of the NRL regular season when the Bulldogs travel to Bankwest Stadium to take on the Parramatta Eels on Thursday, March 12.
An earlier version of this article incorrectly said Hisense would have naming rights to State of Origin. It will only be a major partner.
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