Panasonic ends 37 year partnership with IOC

Panasonic is one of the 15 top sponsors of the International Olympic Committee.

According to media reports, Panasonic, a long-time Olympic sponsor, announced on Tuesday that it will terminate its contract with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the end of the year. Panasonic is known as one of the 15 top sponsors of the International Olympic Committee, contributing to over $2 billion generated by sponsors every four years.

In a statement, Panasonic said it became an IOC sponsor in 1987 and expanded to the Paralympics in 2014. It did not make clear why it was changing course and said only that is was related to continual "reviews how sponsorship should evolve."

Two other Japanese companies are also among the IOC’s 15 leading sponsors. Toyota, which for several months has been reportedly ready to end its contract, was contacted Tuesday by The Associated Press but offered no new information.

Japanese sponsors appear to be distancing themselves from the Olympics, possibly due to the one-year postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Games. The COVID-19 delay decreased sponsor visibility due to the absence of fans, increased costs, and revealed numerous corruption scandals associated with the event.