O2 may drop sponsorship deal with Wireless Festival

02 is considering scrapping its deal with the Wireless Festival in London. The move comes just days after the mobile operator replaced Carling as the headline sponsor of the 11 Academy Music Group venues.

It is thought the review is related to the cost of the new deal. There may also be a shift in the focus of O2’s music strategy. It is already in discussions with Live Nation, the Wireless Festival’s promoter, about whether to continue sponsoring its events.

The AMG deal, which is worth £22.5m over five years, will see O2 customers gain priority tickets to gigs at all the venues. The mobile operator will also have first refusal on exclusive live content from gigs. It will work with artists to make live content available to download on mobile handsets.

The review coincides with a £6m advertising campaign to promote the benefits of O2’s priority ticketing service, which was launched last week (MW last week). The brand has also launched a customer loyalty scheme that aims to reward customers with new services and benefits. These include discounts at The O2, the entertainment complex inside the former Millennium Dome (MW October 30).

The Wireless Festival, which launched in 2005, is held in Hyde Park and has hosted artists including The White Stripes, Morrissey and Depeche Mode. It has also hosted events in Harewood House, Leeds, in 2006 and 2007.