Kia is targeting hockey-mad Canadians with an expanded sponsorship strategy with two national broadcasters this year.

The budget-friendly brand announced last week that it has inked a deal with TSN to sponsor the channel’s new fantasy hockey pool this season, as well as continuing to sponsor CBC’s pool, which has been running since 2006.

The car company has been happy with the traction gained with the CBC sponsorship, Andrew Taylor, marketing supervisor, Kia Canada, tells MiC, and jumped at the opportunity to expand the strategy with TSN. Last year, 104,000 people took part in the CBC pool.

‘It’s really a very unique property, and in 2006 no one was doing it in Canada,’ says Taylor. ‘Hockey’s huge in Canada and is well supported, and we’ve been in hockey from the get-go in many capacities.’

TSN and Kia are promoting the hockey pool to 25- to 54-year-olds, predominantly male, in the lead-up to the NHL season with targeted national print and sports radio ads, including a four-page spread in the season preview edition of The Hockey News, as well as OOH and online campaigns across Canada.

The sponsorship was arranged through ZenithOptimedia in Toronto. The creative and the media buy were handled in-house by CTV Creative Agency and TSN marketing.

The TSN site features Kia in the website skin, banner, and a big box ad. Powered by ESPN software, the hockey pool league manager is a new addition to the TSN website, which has previously offered up fantasy league news but never hosted its own fantasy league.

The Kia brand will also be part of league updates during NHL games televised on TSN and winning participants of both pools will receive Kia vehicles.