Business
• Analysis
Record £200m O2 naming rights deal keeps brand on London arena until 2038
O2 has struck a record £200m deal with venue owner AEG to keep its name on the London arena for another 10 years, until at least 2038. The O2 naming rights deal, thought to be the largest such renewal in UK history, will cost the company about £20m a year.
By Haut Monde Post
• October 7, 2026
• 4 Min Read
A record price for a decade of naming rights
The 10-year agreement runs until at least 2038, making the sponsorship the second longest-running UK stadium naming rights deal, second only to Arsenal's partnership for the football club's London ground. The counterparty is Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which bought the site of the Millennium Dome five years after it was shut following the millennium celebrations.
Under the wide-ranging partnership, O2 is thought to be paying about £20m a year. The price has stepped up across O2's successive deals:
- •The record £200m total is thought to be the largest such renewal in UK history
- •It is almost 50% more a year than the existing deal, which was due to expire at the end of next year
- •The new annual figure is more than triple the £6m a year O2 paid in its initial 10-year deal
From 'white elephant' doubts to the venue's best year
Paul Samuels, president of global partnerships at AEG International, said people had doubted the Millennium Dome site could ever work:
"Everyone thought it would never work, that it was crazy building on the site of the Millennium Dome, it was considered the biggest white elephant"
He said early talks even considered clauses for failing to reach 100 shows a year, while last year the venue hosted 239 shows. According to Samuels, the O2 opened in June 2007 with a Bon Jovi show.
Newly published accounts show 2025 was the best year in the O2's 19-year history. Pre-tax profits climbed 18% to £76.5m, and revenues rose 14% to £148.6m as fans set aside cost-of-living worries to see acts including Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Radiohead and Usher. The record year produced a £27.5m dividend paid to the venue's US parent company.
More priority tickets at the heart of the deal
Gareth Griffiths, director of partnerships and sponsorships at Virgin Media O2 (VMO2), said the deal was agreed within an exclusivity period because it had worked so well. A key component is a 50% increase in the priority tickets made available to O2 customers, who get access to tickets 48 hours before they go on general sale.
Through its Priority Tickets programme, O2 sells more than 1.7m tickets a year across the 20 music venues it sponsors in the UK.
A £200m statement after customer losses and cost cuts
The renewal comes after O2 lost more than 100,000 customers last year following a backlash to steep price rises. A report last month said VMO2's joint owners, Liberty Global and Telefonica, want to cut £600m in costs to calm investor fears over a £22bn debt pile.
Griffiths described the O2 as a strong brand asset for the company. He said the main arena draws 2.5 million people a year, with 7.5 million coming to everything else on offer at the site. Music sits at the core of the brand, he said, and customer retention is central, because churn is about keeping hold of valuable customers. He also called the sponsorship a big success for the O2 brand.
He framed the renewal as a 10-year investment in the UK and a major statement of intent:
"This is a 10-year investment in the UK … a huge sign of intent"
Griffiths said every pound the company spends is spent carefully, that both of its shareholders are fully committed to the deal, and that it has long been proven that growth comes from investment in the brand. The agreement is settled and runs until at least 2038, with O2 customers set to receive 50% more priority tickets under the renewed partnership.
