Anheuser-Busch announced a multi-year, multi-faceted partnership with the National Hockey League, which names Bud Light an official beer of the league in the U.S. and Budweiser as official beer partner in Canada.
Additionally, in Canada the agreement includes Flavored Malt Beverages and Ready-To-Drink Beverages Categories, with Mike’s 0g HARDer Sparkling Water becoming a lead brand in the partnership. Financial terms were not disclosed.
As part of the deal, Bud Light and Budweiser will have the ability to create content and activate throughout the season at NHL marquee events, including the Winter Classic, All-Star Weekend, Stadium Series, Stanley Cup Playoffs, Stanley Cup Final, NHL Awards and NHL Draft.
In addition, the two beer brands will have significant presence across the NHL’s broadcast and digital platforms including NHL Network, NHL Social and NHL.com, in addition to NHL national media rights holders NBC (US) and Rogers Sportsnet (Canada).
Anheuser-Busch and Labatt were former long-time sponsors of the NHL but were replaced by MillerCoors and Molson Coors in 2011 in a deal worth almost approximately $400m.
In September, the NHL named the Boston Beer Company’s Truly Hard Seltzer its official hard seltzer partner in a non-exclusive five-year deal.