Lyons Cakes to sponsor Countdown
Channel 4 gameshow Countdown, the first show to appear on the network at its launch in 1982, will be sponsored by Tomkins-owned cake business Lyons.
The deal, which was brokered by media agency BBJ Media Services, is effective from the middle of May and will run until the end of the year. BBJ claim the deal is worth 750,000.
Channel 4 head of sponsorship David Charlesworth says: “We took some time to find the right partner on this deal. The show is pretty close to the hearts of everyone at Channel 4.”
The Lyons product portfolio includes; Bramley Apple Pies, Swiss Roll, Battenberg, and Grannies Cake.
The Lyons baking business was broken up by the drinks and retailing group Allied Domecq over an 18-month period from 1994.
The Lyons Cake business was subsequently sold in 1995 for 35m to industrial conglomerate Tomkins. It was incorporated into Tomkins’ Ranks Hovis McDougall business, as part of the existing Manor Bakeries operation which produces well-known brands such as Mr Kipling and Cadbury’s Cakes.
