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By severing Coca-Cola's nearly 30-year relationship with the NBA, PepsiCo will achieve a clean marketing sweep of the four major professional sports leagues this fall.
Under the five-year deal, PepsiCo will become the official food and beverage company of the NBA, WNBA, NBA D-League and USA Basketball and will control beverage rights for the NFL, MLB, NHL and NBA. Coke will not be an NBA sponsor for the first time since 1986.
By adding the NBA, Pepsi definitely wins this round of the cola wars, said John Sicher, editor of Beverage Digest.
"In any marketing tool chest, there are lots of different tools—player deals, big deals," Sicher said.
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