Isaac
Years ago
Funny NBL Philips Championship
The NBL has signed Philips as Championship naming rights partner for 2004/05. The NBL competition will be known as the Philips Championship.
This is part of the NBL's drive to secure a global sponsor and make a foray into the Asian market.
The full press release is included at the bottom of this post.
Also announced is that the Perth Wildcats will be playing a regular season game against the Melbourne Tigers in Asia on January 8 in a first for the NBL.
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8 September 2004
NBL SIGNS PHILIPS AS CHAMPIONSHIP NAMING RIGHTS PARTNER
The National Basketball League (NBL) announced today that it has signed a major partnership deal with global brand Philips as the competition's naming rights sponsor. In what is a major step forward for the League, the NBL competition will now be known exclusively as the Philips Championship.
"This is the single most significant announcement that we as a League have made in a number of years," said NBL Commissioner Mr. Rick Burton. "We have been searching for a major international brand who was willing to enter into a true partnership with the League, and that is exactly what we have found with Philips. They share our vision and there are some wonderful synergies between our two brands."
"Our recent effort to open doors into Asia was a key element in attracting a global giant like Philips and we intend to work closely with our new partners to leverage exposure for our brand internationally."
Chief Executive Officer of Philips Electronics Australia, Mr. Harry van Dyk, said that sponsorship of the newly-renamed Philips Championship was an indication of the high regard in which the League was held.
"Philips Electronics has used sport as a vehicle to effectively showcase our brand to consumers for decades now," said Mr. Van Dyk. "We have aligned ourselves with high-profile global properties which include the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the French Open and the New Zealand Rugby Union to name a few of many. Our new partnership in the form of the Philips Championship demonstrates the esteem in which we hold the NBL competition as it joins this list."
"Australian basketball embodies the healthcare, lifestyle and technology vision of Philips and is a great avenue to demonstrate our company's wide range of consumer and medical products to a loyal and fast-growing audience." Mr. Van Dyk added. "It is a rare opportunity to be part of one of Australia's very few truly national sports, and we can't wait to work with Rick Burton and his team to be part of this growth for the long term."
"This is an important property for Philips, as we look to promote the sport and the Philips brand not only in Australia and New Zealand but throughout the region, where the high quality of the Philips Championship will be seen and appreciated regularly by a basketball-mad Asian markets, including China."
The NBL also announced plans today to hold a Philips Championship regular season game between the Perth Wildcats and Melbourne Tigers in Asia on 8 January. The fixture would become the first-ever regular season game scheduled in Asia.
"The League is thrilled that the Perth Wildcats, under the direction of their owner Andrew Vlahov, have taken the aggressive step of seeking to schedule one of their regular season home games to be played in Asia," said Mr. Burton. "Whilst the details are not yet finalised, the move is a bold one and one which will potentially expose the Philips Championship throughout Asia via massive local television coverage. This would be the first step by our league into the larger Asian region and it is appropriate that it would be spearheaded by the Tigers and Wildcats, who have already established strong support in the region."
