IOC loses another TOP backer as J&J quits- 19 Nov 2008 00:00:00
The IOC has been hit by the loss of another one of its major partners after US healthcare manufacturer Johnson and Johnson decided not to extend its Olympic sponsorship through to 2012.
While the company may remain present within the Olympic circuit as a US Olympic Committee sponsor, as well as the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, it will no longer be a TOP level partner with the IOC.
Joining Kodak, ManuLife and Lenovo as companies that have dropped out of the TOP programme in the last 12 months, Johnson and Johnson discontinued their elite-level sponsorship after just three years, reportedly costing the IOC about $100m in revenue over the next four years. This is adding to the difficulty in IOC achieving its goal of bringing in $1bn for the period.
Although the IOC has nine elite sponsors lined up for the 2009-2012 contract period and struck deals for more than the $886bn, the number of TOP-level partners are dwindling compared to Beijing, which had 13.
The dropout of the healthcare manufacturing company at TOP level now frees up the pharmaceutical market for London 2012 to approach with regards to a domestic sponsorship.
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