NBA SIGNS THREE-YEAR DEAL WITH ROGERS
By Adnews Staff
The National Basketball Association has signed a three-year agreement with Rogers AT&T Wireless and Rogers Video making Rogers AT&T Wireless the official wireless service provider and Rogers Video the official video rental store of the NBA in Canada. The agreement also involves a number of initiatives including television advertising, promotions and a national in-store contest. Under this agreement, player images and NBA logos can be used in advertising by the Rogers companies. Rogers AT&T Wireless also gets the exclusive right to offer and promote licensed NBA content on its devices. The wireless service provider will also be the sponsor of the NBA's Hoop-It-Up 3-on-3 basketball tournaments in Canada. Several of these initiatives are already underway. In January Rogers AT&T Wireless released five NBA-themed television commercials. The spots were created by MacLaren McCann and present images of fumbling middle-aged recreational basketball players juxtaposed with footage of professional NBA games. These ads were followed this month by a national in-store contest in which Rogers AT&T Wireless customers receive a poster with purchase of a phone. Customers can also win a trip for two to attend a 2002 NBA Conference Finals game.