The world’s largest manufacturer of consumer electronics and Europe’s leading sports multimedia platform have signed a deal which will see Panasonic as the official partner to Eursport’s high definition television (HDTV) simulcast service, Eurosport HD.

As part of the deal, Eurosport use Panasonic HPX2100 and HVX201 high definition (HD) cameras for coverage of the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing. The main aim of Panasonic is to connect with consumers and promote HDTV in homes across Europe. "We are proud to be the Official HD Partner of Eurosport. The sports channel is setting trends in broadcasting, just as Panasonic's Viera® flat-panel HDTVs are setting standards in the consumer electronics industry," says David Nicholls, General Manager of TV Group, Panasonic Marketing Europe.

Eurosport now fully integrates Panasonic across its multimedia platform, which supports Eurosport's HD programming of major sporting events including the French Open Tennis Championship, UEFA EURO 2008", the Tour de France, the Beijing Olympic Games, and the US Open. On-ai activity is backed by central and local market operations with joint promotions, special events, plus business-to-business and business-to-consumer public relations activities.

The combined objective for both companies is to associate the powerful attributes of the highest quality HDTVs from Panasonic with the unique sports offerings of Eurosport HD during major sporting occasions. Jacques Raynaud, Vice Chairman of Eurosport Group says, "We share a common vision. We aim to deliver a new dimension in sports to viewers in as many HDTV-equipped homes as possible and in as many countries where Eurosport is broadcast, to 112 million homes and 59 territories across Europe."

Eurosport will broadcast the Beijing Games on a 24/7 basis. Thanks to HDTV, sports fans will experience the Olympics like never before with extraordinary picture quality.