Liberty's €1m 'hello' at 'Late Late'

ONE MORE THING:CUE THE drum roll. "Ladies and gentlemen. To whom it concerns. It's the Late Late Show, and here is your sponsor ... Liberty Mutual."

The US insurer has agreed to sponsor the Late Late on RTÉ for the coming season for about €1 million. It’s long been the biggest sponsorship in Irish television. Liberty inherited the sponsorship following its takeover of Quinn Insurance late last year and has decided to renew for another season with the world’s longest running television chat show.

Ryan Tubridy kicks off a new season of the Late Late tonight with a new producer, John McHugh.

John McDonagh, Liberty’s head of marketing, told me the sponsorship would be used to “continue to drive awareness of the new brand in the Irish marketplace as it rolls out products for car and house insurance along with commercial business”.

Liberty is scouting for other big ticket sponsorship opportunities to back up its brand, which entered the Irish market earlier this year.

McDonagh wouldn’t discuss them but the company has been linked with the naming rights for the RDS in south Dublin, which is home to Leinster rugby and the annual Dublin Horse Show.