QUALCOMM, the biggest maker of chips that run mobile phones, extended a new sponsorship deal with Manchester United Football Club until 2029, saying the tie-up is already boosting its Snapdragon brand.
The logo for Snapdragon – a lineup of processors that run devices – has already been seen more than two billion times because of the partnership, the company said on Thursday (Aug 15). The US technology company acquired the rights to put the name on the front of Manchester United’s shirts and place labels of partners, including Microsoft, on the back.
The deal with Manchester United – one of the world’s best-known football teams – is meant to help put a spotlight on Qualcomm’s push into personal computers. Though Snapdragon has existed as a Qualcomm chip brand for almost two decades, it’s mostly been associated with smartphone processors. Qualcomm is now aiming to break Intel’s dominance of the personal computer (PC) market by putting the chips in more PCs.
Qualcomm has tried to crack the PC market before, with limited success. But now it has new chips specifically designed for computers, and it’s up against a weakened Intel. That company has suffered sales declines and market-share losses as it struggles to upgrade its technology.
The Manchester United agreement, announced last month, had initially been for three years.
Qualcomm and Manchester United have declined to comment on the amount the chipmaker is paying. Bloomberg reported last year that the partnership would be valued at just over £60 million (S$102 million) annually. That tops the roughly £47 million paid by the previous sponsor, German software company TeamViewer, Bloomberg reported earlier. BLOOMBERG
