NEW
YORK - July 12, 2004 - Mountain Dew, a brand synonymous
with the phenomenal growth of action sports, has agreed
to a long-term agreement to become the title sponsor
of the Dew Action Sports Tour. The first-ever, season-long,
nationally televised -- network and cable -- professional
Tour for skateboarding, BMX, and freestyle motocross,
the Tour was announced last March and is owned and
operated by NBC Sports and Clear Channel Entertainment’s
Motor Sports division.
The Dew Tour debuts in May 2005 and boasts five major,
multi-sport Tour events, the biggest competitive purse
in action sports, a Million-Dollar Bonus Pool based
upon year-end standings, and the largest network and
cable television broadcasting commitment ever. John
Galloway, Director of Sports for Pepsi-Cola North America,
and Wade Martin, General Manager for the Dew Action
Sports Tour, made the joint announcement.
"We are thrilled that we’re partnering
with NBC and Clear Channel to be the title sponsor
of the Dew Tour,” said Galloway. “This
will help grow action sports across America, and that’s
great for the sports, the athletes and all the brands
involved.”
As
part of Pepsi’s agreement with NBC and Clear
Channel, the Dew Free Flow Tour, a 16-city, amateur
grassroots skateboarding event that began in 2002,
will become an integral part of the Dew Action Sports
Tour as the official amateur and development tour,
designed to foster the growth and grassroots infrastructure
of these sports.
Mountain
Dew has been aligned with action sports since the early
1990s and has become the leading non-endemic brand in this
space.
A long-standing
sponsorship commitment to ESPN's X Games franchise
and the Vans Triple
Crown Series since their inception represents Mountain
Dew's ongoing
dedication to action sports athletes and fans. Mountain
Dew sponsors many of today's top action sports athletes,
including Shaun White (Snowboarding / Skateboarding),
Hannah Teter (Snowboarding), Luke Mitrani (Snowboarding)
and Allan Cooke (BMX).
“Attracting Pepsi’s powerful Mountain
Dew brand as the title sponsor of the pro tour is the
greatest testament to the Tour’s credibility,” said
Martin. “Mountain Dew passionately shares our
commitment to help grow these sports, and has long
been considered a pioneer in action sports and ‘best
in class’
in terms of sponsorship activation. With Mountain Dew’s
support, marketing power, and rich action sports heritage,
NBC and Clear Channel have partnered with the ideal
brand to launch and build the Dew Action Sports Tour
for the growing legion of competitors, fans and TV
viewers,” said Martin.
A
series of five major events, the 2005 Dew Action
Sports Tour will consist of multi-sport and entertainment
festivals covering over one million square feet in
both indoor and outdoor venues. In addition to the
primary sports of skateboarding, BMX, and freestyle
motocross, each tour stop will feature a “specialty
comp” such as super moto, surfing, inline vert,
or wakeboarding, depending upon local interest. Overall
Tour winners in skateboarding (street and vert), BMX
(street, dirt & vert) and freestyle motocross will
be awarded each year with a Dew Cup. Key lifestyle
elements will include live cutting-edge music, video
gaming, and interactive events (skateparks, dirt courses).
The Dew Action Sports Tour is in active discussions
with over 20 major markets, and 2005 Tour cities and
dates will be announced at a later time.
NBC, which had announced 16 hours of network coverage,
has increased its 2005 Dew Action Sports Tour coverage
plans to 19 hours of primarily live coverage. A cable
broadcast partner, and programming plans will be announced
at a later date.
Clear
Channel Entertainment - Motor Sports will be an integral
partner on the Dew Action Sports Tour,
lending its considerable expertise in live event touring
and promotion, including a wide range of off-channel
assets including Clear Channel’s Radio, Outdoor
and Music divisions.
The Dew Free Flow Tour, a grassroots amateur skateboarding
series, will bring jam-style contests to U.S. skate
parks this summer. New for this year's tour is the
first-ever Free Flow finals event at California's Encinitas
YMCA Skatepark, bringing together all 39 winners from
this year's tour.
NBC Sports Ventures
NBC
Sports Ventures, the business development arm of
NBC Sports, produces 80 hours of programming annually
for the NBC Television Network including the American
Century Celebrity Golf Championship, The National Dog
Show Presented by Purina, Jeep World of Adventure Sports,
AVP Tour, The ADT Golf Skills Challenge, Office Depot
Father/Son Challenge & the Budweiser Boxing Series.
Clear Channel Entertainment - Motor Sports
Clear
Channel Entertainment - Motor Sports owns, produces
and promotes specialized, motor sports events primarily
staged in stadiums and arenas. The company stages over
600 events per year and produces over 250 hours of
television programming, featuring such premier properties
such as THQ World Supercross GP/THQ AMA Supercross
Series; USHRA Monster Jam Presented by Ford Trucks & Advance
Auto Parts; Hooter’s IHRA Drag Racing Series & IFMA
Freestyle Motocross. Clear Channel Entertainment-Motor
Sports, a division of Clear Channel Entertainment,
is a subsidiary of Clear Channel Worldwide (NYSE: CCU),
a global leader in the out-of-home, advertising industry.
Pepsi-Cola
North America
Pepsi-Cola
North America (www.pepsi.com), headquartered in Purchase,
N.Y., is the $4 billion beverage division
of PepsiCo, Inc. (www.pepsico.com) in the United States
and Canada. Its U.S. brands include Pepsi, Diet Pepsi,
Pepsi Twist, Pepsi ONE, Pepsi Edge, Wild Cherry Pepsi,
Pepsi Vanilla, Mountain Dew, Mountain Dew Code Red,
Mug, Sierra Mist, Slice, Aquafina, SoBe and Dole single-serve
juices. The company also makes and markets North America's
#1 ready-to-drink iced teas and coffees, respectively,
via joint ventures with Lipton and Starbucks.
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