Microsoft's Xbox 360 scores sponsorship deal with NFLMicrosoft is stepping up its sponsorship of professional sports.
Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has signed a sponsorship deal with the National Football League to become the official console sponsor of the NFL and NFL PLAY 60.
Microsoft said that its Xbox 360 division will work with the NFL’s youth health and wellness program, NFL PLAY 60, to “help teach kids the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle while having fun with Kinect for Xbox 360.”
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen owns the NFL’s Seahawks and Seattle Sounders FC.
Xbox 360 already is a sponsor of the Sounders MLS soccer team. The the “Xbox 360 LIVE” logo featured on the Sounders jersey. Microsoft’s Bing search engine, meanwhile, is sponsoring the Seattle Seahawks, with the football team’s practice jersey sporting the Bing patch.
And Microsoft is adding the Xbox 360 NFL sponsorship. The software giant did not release financial terms of the multiyear deal.
As part of the deal, Kinect for Xbox 360 will integrate into NFL PLAY 60 events and programs. Earlier this week, Xbox 360 donated three consoles to Cathcart Elementary School in Snohomish, as part of an NFL PLAY 60 Super School visit that included players from the Seattle Seahawks.
“We are excited to be aligning with one of the world’s premier sports organizations and believe the Xbox 360 brand represents many of the same values as the NFL, including fun, fitness and great entertainment,” said Dennis Durkin, corporate vice president and chief operating and financial officer of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business. “We particularly look forward to the opportunity to work with an incredible program like NFL PLAY 60 and help inspire today’s youth.”
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http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2011/11/xbox-360-scores-deal-with-nfl.html