Sony seeks TV sponsorship for PlayStation

Sony is searching for a terrestrial TV programme that its PlayStation brand can sponsor.

Among likely programme areas for the company are music, fashion and adventure sports, although PlayStation marketing director Geoff Glendenning says: “It is hard to find the right programme which fits with our image.”

Last year, PlayStation had a marketing budget of about 15m and the spend is likely to be the same this year.

The company is not willing to reveal how much it plans to spend on TV sponsorship.

Sony has used sponsorship intensively to give the brand a “cool, underground image”, which would differentiate it from Nintendo and Sega.

Current sponsorship deals, however, are relatively low-cost and include club nights around the country, such as events at the Ministry of Sound in London and Cream, and the Tribal Gathering music festival.

Sony is also planning to put money into London’s first skateboard park, the PlayStation skate park, which will open in April.

PlayStation, like Sega, is preparing to fight off Nintendo’s advanced N64 console, which launches in the UK on March 1.

A new PlayStation TV campaign will break at the end of the month.

This week Sony announced it would be re-releasing best-sell ing PlayStation games from its back catalogue, aggressively priced at 19.99.