The ECB is poised to extend its controversial sponsorship deal with KP Snacks for The Hundred, despite one of the company's ads for the competition being banned by the Advertising Standards Authority and the impending ban on junk food advertising. The Guardian has discovered that discussions between the ECB and KP are in their final stages regarding a contract that will see snack brands like Hula Hoops, McCoys, Tyrells, and Butterkist promoted on players' shirts for another four years.
The initial KP contract was valued at approximately £4 million over five years, and the company is seeking to extend the deal on similar terms. Matches in The Hundred are scheduled in the afternoon and early evenings to attract a family audience. However, the new shirt sponsorship deal will not be impacted by the pre-9pm ban on junk food advertising, which takes effect next October. A loophole in the legislation allows TV ads for fast food and snacks to be shown before the watershed, provided they do not display the actual products.
The ECB faced significant criticism from health campaigners and MPs when the original five-year deal with KP as title sponsors of The Hundred was announced in 2019, six months before the competition's planned launch, which was delayed until 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The new short-ball format competition was specifically designed by the ECB to appeal to children and was marketed to families with considerable success. ECB research after the first season in 2021 revealed that 19% of all tickets were sold to children, and 55% of ticket buyers had never previously purchased a ticket for cricket in the country.
From a commercial perspective, the timing is advantageous for the ECB, as the governing body is in the process of selling 49% of the eight Hundred franchises in an auction it hopes will generate £400 million for the sport. The second round of a three-part bidding process closed yesterday, with IPL franchise owners and American sports investors dominating the bidding. Offers have been made by India's richest family, the Ambanis, and Knighthead Capital, the owners of Birmingham City.
Given The Hundred's established family audience, the ECB's decision to sign another four-year deal with KP is likely to draw criticism. Caroline Cerny of the Obesity Health Alliance stated, "Junk food brands sponsoring sporting events is just another way they ensure their unhealthy products take center stage in children's minds." In 2022, the ASA banned an advertising campaign jointly run by KP Snacks and The Hundred for specifically targeting junk food at children. An email sent to an ECB mailing list featuring the McCoy's logo, which offered children the chance to claim a free bat and ball, was found to have breached the advertising watchdog's code.
The ASA received two complaints, from the Children's Food Campaign and Food Active, and concluded that the ECB was guilty of two breaches. The ECB apologized for an "internal error" in sending the email to under 16s.
Source link: https://www.theguardian.com
