Top Olympic sponsor Panasonic is ending its contract with the IOC
Olympic sponsor Panasonic is terminating its contract with the IOC at the end of the year
TOKYO (AP) — Olympic sponsor Panasonic is terminating its contract with the IOC at the end of the year, the company said in a statement Tuesday.
Panasonic is one of 15 companies that are so-called TOP sponsors for the International Olympic Committee. It's not known the value of the Panasonic sponsorship, but sponsors contribute more than $2 billion in a four-year cycle to the IOC.
In a statement, Panasonic said it became an IOC sponsor in 1987 and expanded to the Paralympics in 2014. It did not make clear why it was changing course and said only that is was related to continual “reviews how sponsorship should evolve.”
Two other Japanese companies are also among the IOC's 15 leading sponsors. Toyota, which for several months has been reportedly ready to end its contract, was contacted Tuesday by The Associated Press but offered no new information.
