Channel 4 today announced that Lexus will be the sponsor of its live coverage of the rugby union summer internationals from 10th August, thanks to a deal negotiated by 4Sales and The&Partnership.

The agreement will see the luxury car brand’s idents made by the The&Partnership and adapted from its current Channel 4 drama sponsorship, appear around broadcasts of Ireland and Wales’ home warm-up matches as the teams prepare for the Rugby World Cup in Japan later this year. It also includes Wales’ post-world cup fixture against the Barbarians on 30th November.

Channel 4 has signed deals with the Irish and Welsh Rugby Football Unions that includes broadcast coverage of their World Cup warm-up games. The featured matches will include Grand Slam-winners and reigning Six Nations Champions Wales against England on Saturday 17 August and Ireland on Saturday 31 August. Channel 4 will also broadcast Ireland’s match against Wales live from Dublin on 7th September and live coverage of Ireland versus Italy on 10th August.

Rupinder Downie, Brand Partnerships Leader at Channel 4 said: “Channel 4 has given millions of viewers access to some of the best sporting moments this year, and we’re delighted to be partnering with Lexus to bring audiences all the action from Ireland and Wales’ warm-up matches for Japan.”

Emma Lane, Brand Communications Manager at Lexus, said: “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Channel 4 in sponsoring its coverage of the rugby summer internationals. It offers us the perfect opportunity to reach our target audience with the new Lexus UX hybrid.”

Laura Varnam Head of Partnerships at The&Partnership said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for Lexus to reach its upmarket audience with national scale and to tap into the growing buzz in the build up to the games in Japan.”

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About Channel 4

Channel 4 is a publicly-owned yet commercially-funded public service broadcaster and has a remit to be innovative, experimental and distinctive. Its public ownership and not-for-profit status ensure all profit generated by its commercial activity is directly reinvested back into the delivery of its public service remit. As a publisher-broadcaster, Channel 4 is also required to commission UK content from the independent production sector and currently works with around 300 creative companies across the UK every year. In addition to the main Channel 4 service, its portfolio includes: E4, More4, Film4, 4Music, 4seven, Channel4.com and digital service All 4.

About The & Partnership

The&Partnership is both the UK’s largest and Europe’s fastest-growing independent agency network, increasingly known for its innovative in-sourced model.

Backed by WPP and spanning four continents, with 1,500 staff, the multi-disciplined agency group last year saw a year of record growth, expanding across 17 new European markets and doubling in size against a challenging industry backdrop.

It attributes this rapid expansion to the success of its in-sourced ‘&Model’ agencies, with multi-disciplined, on-site teams working alongside clients’ marketing departments in new, nimble ways, to a single bottom line; delivering data-driven work to fit new marketing agendas.

Designed to meet clients’ growing need for maximum speed, agility, cost-effectiveness and integration, these multi-disciplined ‘&Model’ agencies are driving impressive results for clients including News UK and TalkTalk in London, The Wall Street Journal in New York, TELUS in Canada, RBS in Edinburgh, as well as Toyota and Lexus across 17 markets in Europe.

The&Partnership also has offices in London, New York, Canada and Asia, and is partnered with global media planning and buying network m/SIX through a joint venture with GroupM.

About Lexus

This year is the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Lexus luxury brand, which is renowned for its brave design, takumi craftsmanship and application of advanced technologies. Lexus is long-established as a technology leader in the luxury car market with its pioneering development of self-charging hybrid power. Since introducing the Lexus RX 400h in 2005, the world’s first premium hybrid vehicle, it has constantly improved the performance and efficiency of the technology and built an extensive and unparalleled model range that extends from the newly launched UX compact SUV to the flagship LC coupe and LS saloon.

Lexus was named Best Car Brand in the 2019 Which? Awards, in recognition of its industry-leading technology and the high quality of its vehicles.