Continental Tyres to sponsor ITV1’s Dancing on Ice And Confirms Sponsorship Of ITV’s coverage of Team England

Continental Tyres, the international automotive supplier, will be the new sponsor of Dancing on Ice on ITV1, which returns to screens in early 2013. Separately, the brand has also closed a deal which sees them become the sponsors of ITV’s coverage of England football team’s matches in 2013.

The integrated packages, negotiated by ITV Commercial and Initiative on behalf of Continental Tyres, include sponsorship across broadcast and online. The deals will see the brand reach its dual target audience of ABC1 men and women.

Dancing On Ice returns for its eighth series in 2013 as hosts Phillip Schofield and Christine Bleakley join Olympic skating superstars Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean to train a team of well-known faces in the expert art of Dancing On Ice.  Celebrity skaters will be paired with professional ice skaters and coached by the world famous duo to perform daring and exciting routines. The last series achieved an average of 7.8 million viewers and a 28% share of the audience.

With 12 England Internationals scheduled for 2013, Continental’s sponsorship of ITV’s coverage of Team England will bolster the brand’s association with football.  Continental is already an Official Sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2014™ and UEFA EURO 2016™.

Chris Rigg, Account Sales Manager, ITV said: "Continental Tyres is a fantastic brand and we are delighted to be extending our relationship with them. We believe the combination of one of ITV1's most successful entertainment hits Dancing on Ice and the Team England sponsorship will give the brand the opportunity to engage the target audience in interesting ways"

Peter Robb, Brand & Advertising Manager, Continental Tyre Group Ltd, said: “We are really pleased to have agreed such an extensive partnership with ITV. The sponsorship of ITV's coverage of England into 2013 is a perfect fit for our brand and is a great way to  show our commitment to football at a local level. To be the main sponsor of Dancing On Ice enables us to communicate to a huge audience every weekend. We are looking forward to bringing these sponsorships to life so look out for activation especially online and through social media channels.”

Patrick Owen, Business Director at Initiative, said: “To be involved with two flagship ITV series gives Continental Tyres unprecedented opportunities to engage both male and female consumers in the importance of their tyre safety, which is traditionally a hard yet important message to portray.”