How Panasonic ends 37 year partnership with IOC, details emerge

The major commercial deal between Japanese electronics giant Panasonic and the International Olympic Committee will not continue past the end of 2024.

In a statement earlier today, Panasonic – one of 15 so-called ‘TOP’ sponsors of the IOC – said the relationship, which overall has lasted since 1987, would finish in a few months.

The Panasonic statement simply said that the decision comes following “continual reviews [around] how sponsorship should evolve.”

The last extension between Panasonic and the IOC was unveiled in February 2014 and runs between January 2017 and the end of 2024. GlobalData Sport has estimated the deal as being worth $320 million in total.

During that period, Panasonic holds exclusivity within the audiovisual product category.

Panasonic is one of three Japanese brands that are IOC sponsors, alongside Toyota and Bridgestone.

In late May, it was reported that Toyota would be letting its own deal with the IOC (2015-24) expire at the end of this year.

Earlier this year, global drinks conglomerate Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) was named an IOC TOP partner, becoming the first beer brand to do so.

Other TOP partners include Airbnb, Alibaba, Allianz, Atos, Bridgestone, Coca-Cola, Deloitte, Intel, Omega, P&G, Samsung, and Visa.

Last month, Anne-Sophie Voumard, marketing director at the IOC, said the body “would love to welcome a first new TOP sponsor from India and I am sure that this is going to happen very, very soon.”

She also said at that point that TOP partners “come and go depending on their business strategy.”

August also saw Deloitte and the IOC unveil an expansion of their deal, through which the professional services firm will take on the role of games technology integration partner for the Olympic Games, the Paralympics, and the Youth Olympics.

This announcement by Panasonic comes soon after the conclusion of the Paris 2024 Paralympics, which ran between August 28 and September 8.