Eutelsat - Sponsorship of the XX Winter Olympics

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Eutelsat will be Official Sponsorship of the XX Winter Olympics in Torino 2006. Within the framework of this partnership Eutelsat will also provide the TOROC (the Torino Organising Committee of the XX Winter Olympics) with a package of 50 video channels that will be broadcast for the duration of the Games to competition sites, Olympic Villages and Media Villages.

For the XX Winter Olympics in Torino Eutelsat is pleased to have been appointed to manage an exclusive satellite network for the Olympic community that represents one of the largest private television networks put in place for an international sporting event. The network has been designed to provide athletes, judges and referees, members of the IOC, National Olympic Committees and Federations as well as journalists and media operators at competition, training and accommodation locations with exceptional levels of information through 50 digital video channels.

Twenty Olympic Live channels will be provided by the TOBO (the Turin Olympic Broadcasting Organisation) with live coverage from each of the 13 competition sites. Another 30 television channels will enable the Olympic community to follow coverage by national and international television channels. The package will be delivered direct to 5,000 plasma screens and monitors located at the competition sites, three Olympic Villages and seven Media Villages during the Games. Eutelsat will multiplex, encrypt and uplink these services through the facilities managed by its Italian subsidiary, Skylogic Italia, in Turin.

"As a privileged media for broadcasting the world’s great sporting moments, satellites occupy a special place in the Olympic Games by enabling people around the world to share the emotions and record-breaking achievements of leading sportsmen and women" said Giuliano Berretta, Eutelsat CEO.

"Next to human achievement, the Olympics are also the opportunity for innovative new technologies to demonstrate their new levels of performance. We are committed to mobilising our expertise in order to provide the XX Winter Olympic Games with impeccable quality and efficiency for delivering Olympic content and all satellite broadband services required by the Olympic community."

"The partnership with Eutelsat is a key milestone in our objective to integrate into our team of sponsors leading companies who bring expertise and added value to our organisation", said Paolo Rota, TOROC CEO.

"The key word for Olympic technology is reliability and the experience of Eutelsat is a guarantee for state of the art solutions for our broadcasting needs. Of course, the Olympic Games move solutions forward and drive the organising committees to find their partners among the most innovative companies, and that's what happened between TOROC and Eutelsat".

Eutelsat’s satellite coverage of the Olympics will span the Opening Ceremony on 10 February 2006 to the closing ceremony 17 days later. Eutelsat will also deliver satellite services for officials, athletes, and attendees at the Paralympics that follow the main Olympic event, from March 10 to 19. The Paralympics is a sporting competition for disabled athletes competing in five disciplines, including alpine skiing, biathlon, ice sledge hockey, cross-country skiing, and wheelchair curling.

For more on the 2006 Winter Olympic Games, visit Torino 2006

Facts and Figures of the XX Winter Olympic Games

17 days of competitions: from February 10 to 26, 2006;
15 sports: biathlon, bobsleigh, Nordic combined, curling, freestyle, ice hockey, figure skating, speed skating, ski jumping, Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, short-track, skeleton, luge and snowboard;
7 competition sites: Torino, Bardonecchia, Cesana, Pinerolo, Pragelato, Sauze d' Oulx, Sestriere;
3 Olympic Villages: Torino, Bardonecchia and Sestriere;
82 titles at stake;
246 medals to be awarded;
80 National Olympic Committees;
2,550 athletes;
1,400 coaches and national team officials;
2,300 representatives of the IOC, National Olympic Committees and Federations;
650 judges and umpires;
9,600 journalists and media operators;
6,000 guests of sponsors.

Source: Eutelsat