Channel 4 hunts £2.2m sponsor
Channel 4 is looking for a sponsor for its new drama. The sponsor will be expected to pay up to &£2.2m for a one-year deal.
The existing sponsorship is held by Renault and is due to expire at the end of January.
Channel 4 head of sponsorship David Charlesworth says: “Renault hasn’t said it wants to do it. We are talking to a number of people about the new drama package, which is less controversial than in the past.”
Becks, which sponsored the strand prior to Renault, pulled out part way through gay drama series Queer As Folk, but denied it was because of the show’s content.
The new one-year sponsorship package will include The West Wing and Teachers, previous series of which have already been shown on the channel. Any new sponsorship deal is likely to start from March.
Channel 4 is also looking for a sponsor for its sports coverage, which includes cricket and the world rally championship. StepStone UK signed a &£4m sponsorship deal in May, but that deal came to an end when the recruitment agency experienced financial problems in the UK . Channel 4 is prepared to split the sports coverage into separate deals.
The channel is continuing to look for a sponsor for teen soap Hollyoaks. It has set a price tag of up to &£7m for a one-year deal.
