ADT Renews Sponsorship of Skillz Challenge

You remember how, a few weeks ago, I wondered if ADT was going to keep its sponsorship of the NBC-owned ADT Skills Challenge after dropping its sponsorship of the ADT Championship?  And, that I wanted to know if ADT was moving onto other sports or just moving away from the LPGA Tour?

Well, we may have gotten our answer.  ADT is going to continue on as the Skills Challenge title sponsor.

ADT has sponsored the 17-year-old Skills Challenge since 2001 and will continue through at least 2012 under the terms of its new deal. Financial terms could not be determined.

The decision to renew with NBC follows an announcement on Oct. 16 that ADT would not renew with the LPGA. The ADT Championship is the culmination of a seasonlong points structure that pits the top 16 finishers in a four-day tournament at Trump National in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Don Boerema, chief marketing officer of ADT, said the company’s internal metrics showed a higher return on investment for the NBC deal than the LPGA tournament, which it had sponsored since 2001.

Boerema said the decision to walk away had nothing to do with cutting spending on marketing.

“We’re not pulling back because of the economy,” he said.

The worst part of posting this kind of news is that I am a huge advocate and fan of the LPGA Tour.  I am bothered to no end that it is facing the financial difficulty that it is in this economy.

Obviously, we don't know who ended the relationship (ADT or LPGA Tour) and why.  We just know that it's over.  But, this story indicates to me that ADT supports golf, or NBC Sports.