TOKYO (AP) — Automaker Toyota is set to end its massive sponsorship deal with the International Olympic Committee after this year’s Paris Olympics, according to reports in Japan.
Toyota has a contract through the 2024 Paris Games, which was valued at $835 million when it was announced in 2015. It included four Olympics, starting with the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games in South Korea and running through Paris.
It has been widely publicized as being the The IOC’s biggest sponsorship deal.
Citing “sources close to the matter”, Japanese news agency Kyodo said Toyota was unhappy with the way sponsorship money was used by the IOC. The news agency, citing sources, said the money “was not used effectively to support athletes and promote sport”.
Contacted by the Associated Press, Toyota declined to comment and said financial details were private.
Toyota has withdrawn its Olympic advertising in Japan during the pandemic-postponed Tokyo Games in 2021. He said he was responding to strong public sentiment in the country against holding the Olympics and pressure from the IOC to hold them.
The IOC did not comment on the reports when contacted by the AP.
“We have an agreement with Toyota until the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” said the IOC. “We continue to work closely in preparation for Paris and look forward to bringing these plans to life.”
Toyota is supplying 3,000 fuel cell vehicles to the Paris Games to showcase its green technology.
The IOC generates 91% of its revenue from the sale of broadcasting rights (61%) and sponsorships (30%).
The IOC had revenues of US$7.6 billion in the last four-year cycle that ended with the Tokyo Games. The IOC’s TOP 15 sponsors paid more than US$2 billion during this period. The value is expected to reach US$3 billion in the next cycle.
“There is no sports property that reaches as many bases as the Olympics across the country,” Rick Burton, who teaches sports marketing at Syracuse University, told the Associated Press. “You have high brand recognition. You just don’t have other sports properties that give you that.”
Burton said the IOC would likely find another vehicle brand if Toyota pulls out. He said it would be best to find a replacement quickly.
In addition to Toyota, the TOP sponsors are: ABInBev, Airbnb, Alibaba, Allianz, Atos, Bridgestone, Coca-Cola, Deloitte, Intel, Omega, Panasonic, P&G, Samsung and Visa.
Japan officially spent US$13 billion at the Tokyo Olympics, at least half of which was public money. A government audit suggested the real cost was twice that. The IOC’s contribution was around US$1.8 billion.
O The Tokyo Games were involved in corruption scandals linked to local sponsorships and the award of contracts. Dentsu Inc, the huge Japanese marketing and public relations company, was the marketing arm of the Tokyo Olympics and raised a record $3.3 billion in local sponsorship money. This is separate from TOP sponsors.
French prosecutors also sought in the alleged vote buying in the IOC’s 2013 decision to choose Tokyo as the host of the Olympics.
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Associated Press writer Yuri Kageyama contributed to this report.
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