Sonic has agreed to be the exclusive presenting sponsor of USA Network’s “Nashville Star.”

The integrated media and marketing deal begins during auditions for the show this month and runs through the program’s fifth season, which premieres in January, and includes a concert tour after the show ends.

Promotional elements include signage at auditions, in-show integration, tagged on-air and custom integrated promotion spots, consumer print advertising, radio campaigns and grass-roots marketing, as well as an exclusive sponsored presence on the show’s official Web site.

A USA spokeswoman said that the key sponsors of “Nashville Star” from last year, which include Chevrolet, Wal-Mart, Prilosec and Cotton Inc., are expected to continue to be involved with the show, but not on the level of Sonic, the nation’s largest drive-in restaurant chain.