Taco Bell In, McDonald's Out as Official NBA Sponsor

by Tina Kells | July 2, 2009 at 04:47 pm

177 views | 0 Recommendations | 0 comments

Taco Bell is in and McDonald's is out as the official sponsor of the NBA. The four year deal will mean that Taco Bell will be the official fast-food supplier for the NBA. Taco Bell will also enjoy prominent exposure on NBA broadcasts on ABC, ESPN and TNT.

McDonald's has been the official NBA sponsor since 1990, for nearly two decades, and the switch to Taco Bell will be an upset. The NBA has not yet made an official announcement confirming the new partnership with Taco Bell but McDonald's has already publicly admitted that the relationship is over.

"We thank the NBA for their partnership and wish them continued success," John Lewicki, director of alliance marketing for McDonald's USA, said in a statement released to the media. McDonald's will continue to work with individual NBA franchises but is no longer partnered with the NBA itself.

Taco Bell, the Mexican fast food chain of Yum Brands Inc, and the U.S. sports league have signed a four-year deal that includes heavy media exposure on the NBA's broadcast rights partners, ABC, ESPN and TNT, said the source, who asked not to be identified because the deal has not been officially announced.

The deal also includes NBA-themed promotions at Taco Bell's 5,600 outlets and NBA-themed advertising and advertising rights to the Saturday night skills challenge held during the NBA all-star game in February, the source said. The terms of the deal were not available.

An NBA spokesman declined to comment and officials with Taco Bell could not be reached to comment.

An announcement of the deal is expected as soon as Thursday and the deal will be effective immediately, the source said.

Taco Bell has partnerships with nine NBA teams. Yum has had an international relationship with the NBA since 2006 with its KFC brand, starting first in France and expanding to 16 countries across Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean.