ECB in talks to extend controversial Hundred sponsorship with KP Snacks

The England and Wales Cricket Board is set to extend the Hundred’s controversial sponsorship deal with KP Snacks despite one of the company’s adverts for the competition being banned by the Advertising Standards Authority and a looming ban on junk food advertising.

The Guardian has learned that talks between the ECB and KP are at an advanced stage over a contract that will see brands such as Hula Hoops, McCoy’s, Tyrells and Butterkist promoted on players’ shirts for another four years. The original KP contract was worth about £4m to the ECB over five years and the company wants to extend on similar terms.

Related: ECB warns it will not be ‘bounced’ into selling all Hundred cricket franchises

Hundred games are played in the afternoon and early evenings to target a family audience, but the new shirt sponsorship deal will not be affected by a pre-9pm ban on junk food advertising that comes into force next October. A loophole in the legislation means TV adverts for fast food and snacks will still be permitted before the watershed if they do not show the actual products.

The ECB faced strong criticism from health campaigners and MPs when the initial five-year deal with KP as title sponsors of the Hundred was announced in 2019, six months before the competition’s planned launch, which ended up being delayed until 2021 by the Covid‑19 pandemic.

The short-format competition was specifically designed by the ECB to appeal to children and was marketed to families with considerable success. Research by the board after the first season in 2021 showed that 19% of all tickets were sold to children, and that 55% of ticket buyers had never previously purchased a ticket for cricket in this country.

In commercial terms the timing of a new deal is a boost for the ECB as the governing body is in the process of selling off 49% of the eight Hundred franchises in an auction it hopes will raise £400m for the sport.

The second round of a three-part bidding process closed on Monday. Indian Premier League franchise owners and American sports investors are dominating the bidding, with offers having being made by India’s richest family, the Ambanis, and Knighthead Capital, the owners of Birmingham City.

Given the Hundred’s established family audience, the ECB’s decision to sign another four-year deal with KP is likely to be criticised.

A spokesperson for the Obesity Health Alliance said after the original deal in 2019: “Junk food brands sponsoring sporting events is just another way they make sure their unhealthy products take centre stage in children’s minds.”

In 2022 the ASA banned an advertising campaign run jointly by KP Snacks and the Hundred for specifically targeting junk food at children. An email sent to an ECB mailing list featuring the McCoy’s logo which offered children the chance to claim a free bat and ball was found to have breached the advertising watchdog’s code.

The ASA received two complaints, from the Children’s Food Campaign and Food Active, and concluded the ECB was guilty of two breaches. The ECB apologised for an “internal error” in sending the email to under-16s.