Sony will not renew its FIFA sponsorship
Sony will reportedly not renew its FIFA sponsorship and will instead spend its money on structural reforms, according to Nikkei. The electronics giant began sponsoring the global soccer organization in 2005, signing an eight-year, 33 billion yen ($277 million using current rates) contract, which is set to expire this year. According to Nikkei, Sony participated in sales and marketing for over 40 soccer tournaments during that time, including the 2010 and 2014 World Cup matches.
Sony reported a 85.6 billion yen operating loss ($766 million) in October, at which point it noted a thriving Games and Network division led by 13.5 million PS4 shipments. The company upped its loss forecast to 230 billion yen ($2.15 billion) in September after it downgraded its mobile and smartphone business by 180 billion yen ($1.68 billion). It restructured its TV division and sold off its Vaio PC brand in February as well, which resulted in the loss of 5,000 jobs.
[Image: Sony]
