The EBU raises the bar with the Beijing Live video portal

Geneva, 7 August 2008 – The European Broadcasting Union* (EBU) and its Member broadcasters have launched a live streaming video portal delivering online Olympic images to audiences across Europe and beyond. 

The EBU video portal, www.eurovisionsports.tv/olympics, also accessible from the official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, www.beijing2008.com, provides comprehensive coverage across all sports and venues for the 19 days of competition. The video portal aggregates over 30 EBU Member broadcasters’ simulcast feeds, complemented with 12 Eurovision live feeds.

In total, the video portal will carry over 9,000 hours of live streaming videos to 61 countries. Furthermore, anyone who missed crucial action will be able to view Video on Demand (VoD) highlights of all the major events and finals. Due to IOC Rights requirements, viewers outside the EBU territories are denied access to the video portal by geo-blocking technology. 

“The EBU’s video portal promotes the widest possible distribution of EBU Member’s coverage of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games across EBU territories for the benefit of pan-European audiences. The EBU and its Member broadcasters continue to make innovative use of its Olympic new media rights portfolio.” said EBU Director General Jean Réveillon. 

The site is sponsored by Lenovo**, the exclusive computing equipment provider to the Olympic Games and a worldwide partner. Catherine Ladousse, Executive Director, Corporate Marketing & Communications at Lenovo says it is using the live video portal to project the Lenovo brand to a younger generation of viewers who are increasingly turning online to watch sports. 

The EBU and its Members are delivering the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games wherever the audience expects to find them in Europe and beyond. It is providing the most extensive media coverage of the Olympic Games in history across all major platforms: internet, mobile as well as radio and television.

Press Contact:
Avril Mahon Roberts
EBU Head of Communications
Tel +41.22.717.20.14
Mobile: +41.79.404.38.91
Mail: mahon@ebu.ch 

Note to editors:

* The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is the largest association of national broadcasters in the world 
(75 active Members, 45 associate Members). The EBU helps public service broadcasters  to deliver unique high quality programming to their audiences. It offers Members technical, operational and legal services, and coordinates a growing supply of quality content for radio, television and new platforms. It acquires sports rights on behalf of its Members. EBU sports acquisitions includes European and World events such as the Olympic Games, the FIFA World Cup, the World Championships in Athletics, the Skiing (Alpine and Nordic) World Championships, the Roland Garros International Tennis Championships, and many other major competitions.

The Eurovision and Euroradio networks, operated by the EBU, carry daily exchanges of programmes, music, sports events and news between Members, and other media players. 

More on: www.ebu.ch and www.eurovision.net

** About Lenovo
Lenovo is dedicated to building the world’s most innovative personal computers. Lenovo’s business model is built on innovation, operational efficiency and customer satisfaction as well as a focus on investment in emerging markets. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services worldwide. Lenovo has major research centres in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information see www.lenovo.com.