MG Motor Ireland sponsors RTÉ's Donncha's Away Games

RTÉ Commercial has announced MG Motor Ireland as sponsor of new factual entertainment series Donncha's Away Games, giving the automaker branded visibility across a prime-time Sunday evening slot the broadcaster is positioning as a family viewing opportunity heading into winter. The sponsorship includes 108 credited stings across all episodes on RTÉ One and RTÉ One +1, live broadcasts and catch-up episodes on RTÉ Player, and sponsor logos on promos across television, audio and social media. The series, hosted by former Ireland rugby international Donncha O'Callaghan and produced by Shinawil, follows a different celebrity guest each week competing in unusual challenges abroad, and airs Sundays at 7.30pm.

MG Motor Ireland is the Irish distribution arm of MG, a British-founded car brand now owned by Chinese state-owned automaker SAIC Motor, headquartered in Shanghai. MG has been Europe's best-selling Chinese automotive brand for 11 consecutive years, selling more than one million cars across the region.

RTÉ is Ireland's national public service broadcaster, funded through the television licence fee and commercial revenue generated by RTÉ Commercial, which negotiates sponsorship across its television and digital properties.

The deal ties MG to a brand-new RTÉ format rather than an established property, giving the automaker first-mover association with a series the broadcaster is still building an audience for.

MG Motor Ireland marketing and PR manager Natasha Maher said Sunday at 7.30pm is a wonderful time to reach families watching together, especially heading into the winter months, and that the series' energy, humour and adventure made it a great fit for the brand.

Omnicom business director Niamh Smyth said the partnership gives MG a strong platform to connect with a highly relevant audience, driving brand visibility and consideration through quality, engaging content, while RTÉ sponsorship manager Ruth Kennedy said the broadcaster looks forward to working with MG to bring the series to audiences.

For the sector, the deal illustrates how automotive brands continue to use broad, family-oriented factual entertainment sponsorship, rather than sport or news programming, to build mainstream recognition, positioning the sponsorship around a show's tone and scheduling slot rather than a subject-matter tie to the product itself.

Source: European Sponsorship Association