Sky agrees Xbox product placement deal

Sky has agreed its first product placement deal under newly-relaxed regulations, with Microsoft's Xbox 360 console to appear on Sky1 sports panel show A League Of Their Own.

Tomorrow, the Xbox Kinect game Kinect Sports will appear in the pre-title sequence for A League of Their Own, which is presented by James Corden.

The agreement is the first of its kind for Sky and has been made possible by changes to the law introduced by the government in 2010, and brought into force by Ofcom last month.

On February 28, ITV made history with the first paid-for product placement on British television, when Nestlé's Dolce Gusto coffee brand appeared on This Morning.

Sky worked closely with CPL Productions, producers of A League of their Own, on the pre-title sequence, which features members of the studio audience playing Kinect Sports.

The product placement deal complements Xbox's existing sponsorship of the Sky1 series. Both deals were negotiated between Sky Media and UM London, the agency representing Xbox.

Jason Hughes, head of branded content at Sky, said: "We're delighted to be able to build on our broadcast sponsor partnership with Kinect for Xbox 360 and Kinect Sports in this way, especially as it is the first product placement deal we've agreed to make it on air.

"Both Kinect Sports and A League of Their Own are all about people having fun with sport, and we look forward to working with Xbox to innovate and develop our relationship further over time."

Stephen McGill, director of Xbox for Microsoft's retail sales and marketing division, added: "Coming hot on the heels of the Xbox sponsorship of Got To Dance 2, this product placement deal with Sky provides yet another highly innovative partnership opportunity.

"Kinect Sports is an ideal fit for A League of Their Own, and I'm sure viewers will be interested to see how the game has been integrated into the show."

Earlier in the month, Channel 4 agreed its first product placement deal under the new regulations, with retail chain New Look due to appear on a new show for the T4 strand.

Watch a recent clip of A League Of Their Own, where Jamie Redknapp is set on fire, below: