Orange partners with UEFA to sponsor UEFA Euro 2012™, its largest pan-european sports sponsorship across 11 countries

Paris

Orange and TP to be an official technology partner of UEFA EURO 2012™
UEFA and Orange to develop and distribute the official UEFA mobile application for UEFA EURO 2012™

Orange underlines its commitment to sport by partnering with UEFA to sponsor the European Football Championship™ across Orange’s 11 European countries
As an official technology partner, TP (Orange Poland and TP) will provide all telecommunications services, fixed and wireless in Poland, to support the delivery of EURO 2012


Orange today announced that it will join an elite family of global brands to become an official sponsor of the European Football Championships (UEFA EURO 2012™) to be held in Poland and Ukraine in June and July next year. As a global sponsor, the partnership will enable Orange to deliver a whole host of exciting products and services associated with EURO 2012 across its 11 key European markets including the official mobile phone application for EURO 2012. TP (Orange Poland and TP) is today also announcing its role as an official technology partner for EURO 2012 and will provide all fixed and wireless telecommunications services within Poland as part of UEFA’s worldwide distribution solution.

As the first truly pan-European sports sponsorship the company has ever undertaken, EURO 2012 affirms Orange’s commitment to deliver content loved by its customers, with sport as a key facet of its brand. Knowing that sport – especially football – is a huge passion to many of its customers, Orange will bring the tournament alive on its internet and mobile platforms via its European network, offering bespoke content and services to enhance its customers’ experience of the matches.

Olaf Swantee, EVP of Operations in Europe for Orange said: “This is a significant and exciting announcement for Orange. There are huge synergies between the Orange brand and the values of UEFA and the European football championship. Our commitment to honesty, fairness and delivering the best possible experience at all times will be brought to life in the lead up to and during the tournament with content, competitions and experiences that bring our customers closer to both brands.”

David Taylor, CEO, UEFA Events SA, said: “We are delighted to welcome Orange and TP to the UEFA EURO 2012™ sponsorship family. We expect EURO 2012 to be a huge success and are excited about the prospect of taking Europe’s elite national team competition to Poland and Ukraine. As Host Broadcaster for UEFA EURO 2012™ it is crucial we have best-in-class services from Orange and TP, our technology partner, in order to deliver the live match signals from Polish stadiums to UEFA’s many broadcaster partners and then on to football fans around the world. In addition, the various Orange consumer services to be developed for UEFA EURO 2012™ will ensure fans across the Orange territories have new ways of enjoying and sharing the passion of a Europe’s finest national team tournament"

Maciej Witucki, president of TP Group, added: “We are proud that Telekomunikacja Polska and Orange will be part of the technology solution supporting UEFA EURO 2012™. We have the competencies to provide UEFA with the highest class ICT support and we have already passed the first test, supporting the EURO 2012 Qualifying Draw in Warsaw. Together with UEFA we are going to provide the European Football Championship with technology solutions, which will enable communication and data transfer among official UEFA EURO 2012™ sites in Poland including, critically, the stadiums and the International Broadcast Centre. We also plan to assign a separate network dedicated to UEFA EURO 2012™. This will enable us to give our customers, clients and football fans new ways to share their experience and enjoyment during this festival of football.
Our investments in Euro 2012 are also key to supporting our market growth, now and in the future. I am confident that the partnership between UEFA, TP and Orange will have a major contribution to the success of this historical event, for Poland.”

Details regarding specific activities are being finalised for each market, but opportunities to win tickets for the tournament along with exclusive Orange and EURO 2012 branded gifts for our customers and other EURO 2012 content will form a key component of Orange’s customer-focused sponsorship activity. In addition, the official mobile application will contain new and bespoke content developed in partnership with UEFA.

Severine Legrix De La Salle, Vice president, Brand for Orange, concluded: “The previous edition, UEFA EURO 2008™ was broadcast across 231 countries and territories around the world, attracting an average live TV audience per match of 147 million and an audience reach of 1.4 billion viewers during the tournament. We are determined to deliver a sponsorship package that brings the tournament to life for our customers. Our aim is to create an emotional connection between our brand and consumers by develop exciting and compelling products and services based around one of the world’s greatest sporting events.”

The territories covered under the agreement are Spain, Poland, France, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, Romania, Austria, Luxembourg, Moldova, Switzerland and Armenia. As well as promotions to win tickets to matches, Orange’s rights include the creation of premium products using a combination of the Orange and EURO 2012 logos and imagery. Orange perimeter advertising will also be visible, as will branding on tickets, at numerous pre-tournament events and in stadiums during the matches along with branded presence on the EURO 2012 section of UEFA’s official website.

A propos d’Orange
Orange est la marque phare de France Télécom, un des principaux opérateurs de télécommunications dans le monde. Elle compte plus de 131 millions de clients, pour l’internet, la télévision et le mobile dans la majorité des pays où le Groupe est présent. En 2009, le Groupe a réalisé un chiffre d’affaires de 44,8 milliards d’euros (33,7 milliards d’euros sur les neuf premiers mois de 2010) pour l’ensemble de ses activités. Au 30 septembre 2010, le Groupe comptait 203 millions de clients dans 32 pays, dont 144,5 millions de clients du mobile et 13,3 millions de clients ADSL et fibre dans le monde. Orange est l’un des principaux opérateurs européens du mobile et l’accès internet ADSL et l’un des leaders mondiaux des services de télécommunications aux entreprises multinationales, sous la marque Orange Business Services.


Avec son projet d’entreprise « conquêtes 2015 », Orange s’adresse simultanément à ses salariés, à ses clients, à ses actionnaires et plus largement à la société dans laquelle l’entreprise évolue en s’engageant concrètement sur des plans d’actions. Ceux-ci concernent les salariés du Groupe grâce à une nouvelle vision des Ressources Humaines ; les réseaux, avec le déploiement des infrastructures du futur sur lesquelles le Groupe bâtira sa croissance ; les clients, avec l’ambition de leur offrir la meilleure expérience parmi les opérateurs grâce, notamment, à l’amélioration de la qualité de service ; et l’accélération du développement international.



France Télécom (NYSE:FTE) est cotée sur Euronext Paris (compartiment A) et sur le New York Stock Exchange.

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