TORONTO – Hockey Night in Canada’s Coach’s Corner has scored a new partnership deal with Labatt Breweries and its Budweiser label.
The brewer said Friday it has signed a multi-year agreement for the popular segment that will see Budweiser content and advertising during the show with Ron MacLean and Don Cherry.
The deal comes as the show gets set to return following the NHL lockout. Financial terms of the agreement were not immediately available.
“Coach’s Corner is a central part of the hockey experience for Canadian fans and Budweiser is proud to support every check, shot, hit and goal analyzed by Ron and Don,” said Jorn Socquet, Labatt’s vice-president of marketing.
In addition to Coach’s Corner, Budweiser will also sponsor several other segments on Hockey Night in Canada including its Second Screen experience, the Out of Town Scores and Goal Tonight, a highlights package.
“Budweiser has built a great connection with hockey fans across Canada, and having them as part of Hockey Night is a natural fit,” said Alan Dark, general manager, CBC Revenue Group.
Labatt and Budweiser scored a viral hit last year with its television ad featuring a couple of unsuspecting beer-league hockey teams and an arena-filling flash mob cheering them on.
The partnership with Coach’s Corner comes after Labatt was beat out by rival Molson Canadian in 2011 to become the official beer of the NHL under a seven-year deal.
Labatt challenged the deal in the courts, but lost.
Budweiser is owned by Anheuser-Busch, which is Labatt’s corporate parent.
