Apple will replace Pepsi as a sponsor in the new Super Bowl Halftime Show, the National Football League (NFL) announced late Thursday, as per The Wrap.
Longtime sponsor Pepsi backed away in the coveted annual event that typically draws one of the biggest single TV audiences of the year.
Apple Will Sponsor Superbowl Halftime Show Starting 2023
"We are proud to welcome Apple Music to the NFL family as our new partner for the iconic Super Bowl Halftime Show," Nana-Yaw Asamoah, the NFL's senior vice president of partner strategy, said in a statement.
Asamoah also said that there is no more appropriate partner for the world's most-watched musical performance other than Apple Music.
Every year, the entertainment industry's hottest artists are featured in the Halftime Show Previous halftime shows have featured performances by Lady Gaga, Dr. Dre, U2, Bruno Mars and Coldplay, among many others.
According to Oliver Schusser, vice president of Apple Music and Beats, Apple is very excited to be part of the music and football's biggest stage as music and sports "hold a special place in our hearts."
In recent months, Apple has shown a greater interest in sports. In order to show games to subscribers, the company's streaming platform has struck deals with Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer.
The tech company is looking forward to epic performances now that Apple Music will sponsor Super Bowl Halftime Show, according to Variety.
Apple Music will sponsor its first Super Bowl Halftime Show on February 12, 2023, to be held at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Audience can expect Apple Music to offer sneak peeks of its ideas in the coming months. We can expect it from @AppleMusic, on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter.
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Apple Music Replaces Pepsi as Super Bowl Halftime Show Sponsor
Last year, over 120 million people watched the Super Bowl Halftime Show, according to NFL.
According The Hollywood Reporter, we have seen Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent and Mary J. Blige performed during the past year's show.
Some of the biggest names in the music industry were also featured in previous shows including Beyonce, Prince, Justin Timberlake, and Jennifer Lopez.
The Hollywood Reporter said that the league was hoping to find a new sponsor if Pepsi would indeed back away. The NFL is hoping to find a sponsor that could make the show "bigger, taking different aspects of it and making it stand way outside of the 12 minutes."
Following the successful 2022 event, Pepsi announced in May that it is backing away from sponsoring the show. With that, the soft drink and snack giant ended its 10-year sponsorship deal with the NFL.
Pepsi's deal with the NFL started in 2012. Over a period of 10 years, it was worth $2 billion according to CNET.
For the new Super Bowl Halftime sponsor, the NFL was said to be seeking for $50 million per year deal.
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