DirecTV has signed on, at least for this season, to be the new title sponsor of college football's Holiday Bowl, which each season matches up teams from the doomed Pac-12 and other athletic conferences who missed out on a league title and/or College Football Playoff to Downtown San Diego's Petco Park.
In its announcement Thursday, DirecTV didn't release details for the deal (which could very well end up being a one-off, because DirecTV wouldn't even tell us whether it was a "multiyear" agreement or not).
DirecTV follows SeaWorld, Thrifty Car Rental, Chrysler Corporation, Pacific Life and the San Diego County Credit Union among companies that have sponsored the upper second-tier bowl game.
The 44th annual Holiday Bowl (now “DirecTV Holiday Bowl’) will kick off at 8 p.m. EST on Wednesday, December 27 at Petco Park in downtown San Diego, matching up teams from the Pac-12 and ACC.
Like sports-focused pay TV competitor Fubo, which has signed myriad team sponsorships of late with major league franchises, DirecTV has moved aggressively into sports marketing channels of late. In August, for example, it signed deals to become official sponsors of USC and Notre Dame athletics.
As for branding the “DirecTV Holiday Bowl,” the pay TV company is attaching its name to what is usually one of college bowl season's better second-tier matchups. Last December's game, which featured Oregon narrowly beating North Carolina 28-27, averaged 3.97 million viewers for Fox.
“DirecTV is a respected industry leader, a sports powerhouse and an incredible brand,” Dennis DuBard, 2023/24 president of Sports San Diego, the group that produces the Holiday Bowl, said.
