Starting with the Toon’s first home match of the group stage against Dinamo Tbilisi on 4 November, the deal with feature branded trailers on ITV2 and ITV3 and specially created idents for the match programme, hosted by Matt Smith.
The deal was negotiated by Alison Wright at Mediavest Manchester with Elaine Roberts and Stewart Hunt at ITV Sales.
David Henderson, director of advertising at Northern Rock, said: “This is a logical extension of the company’s involvement in sport and in particular as Newcastle United’s partner, I am sure everyone will have a laugh at our Romeo the Frog title credits.”
The deal follows ITV’s recent decision to snap up the rights to Newcastle United’s Uefa Cup games.
On match days, ITV2 has been re-branded to ITV Toon, with the broadcaster’s traditional blue and yellow idents changed to mirror Newcastle United’s black and white home strip.
Hunt added: “This sponsorship deal is a fantastic association with ITV2’s sporting output. UEFA Cup football is a must for any football fan and this is a fantastic and targeted advertising opportunity for Northern Rock.”
