Renault Extends Channel 4 Drama Sponsorship Deal

Channel 4 has announced that Renault Espace will extend its long-term sponsorship of the broadcaster’s drama strand for another year.

The deal, which began in 1999, includes six leading American dramas and three new UK dramas designed to deliver the car manufacturer to a core audience of affluent ABC1 men aged between 35 and 55.

Channel 4’s drama slate for the coming year includes Nip/Tuck, the controversial comedy drama about cosmetic surgeons, the fifth season of The West Wing and Without a Trace, a new criminal drama series following a special task force that hunts for missing persons using advanced psychological profiling.

Home-grown drama series include Paul Greengrass, a feature length look at the events of the bloody Sunday massacre, Sex Traffic, a two part drama exploring the trade of selling women into sexual slavery and NY-Lon, an upbeat and romantic series set in New York and London.

The deal was negotiated by Louise Pipe of Carat Sponsorship and Mel Briggs at Channel 4. It includes 15-second beginning and end credits, as well as 5-second break bumpers featuring locations around the French Riviera with the strapline: “Renault Espace – The best seat in the house.”

Commenting on the sponsorship, Renault’s marketing manager, Chris White, said: “Channel 4’s long heritage of broadcasting cutting-edge drama provides the ideal environment to communicate with potential Espace drivers. The breadth of this relationship across 12 months allows regular opportunities for communication throughout 2004.”

Earlier this month Channel 4 revealed plans to launch several new digital channels in efforts to corner specialist markets and increase overall audience share. The broadcaster is thought to be planning stations focusing on music, factual and comedy programming, as well as the much anticipated More 4, due to launch later this year on the Freeview platform (see Channel 4 Planning Raft Of Digital Channels).

Channel Four: 020 7396 4444 www.channel4.co.uk

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