Granada arm seeks circus show sponsor

Granada Media’s commercial enterprises division is looking for pan-European sponsors for the live and televised performances of Canadian dance troupe Cirque du Soleil.

The Montreal company, which has shows on permanent tour around the world, has signed a number of distribution deals which will see its live performances made into TV programmes for broadcast in 20 markets next Christmas.

Granada Media Commercial Enterprises, the arm that deals with licensing, sponsorship and promotional deals for Granada Media Group, is looking for partners to adopt the live and pre-recorded TV shows as one commercial package.

Gary Knight, executive commercial director for the division which is overseeing the deals, says: “The audience is reasonably upmarket. TV will spread this appeal to a broader audience. As we build its on-air position we will link it with off-air activity.”

Knight has also been appointed as one of two commercial agents for the International Football Hall of Fame, the centrepiece of a new complex to be built in Manchester by the end of the year 2000.