And now, a word from our Olympic sponsors: Panasonic

What does it mean to sponsor the biggest sporting event in the world? In this series, Radio86 asked some of the biggest Olympic sponsors to take us into the practical side of sponsorship.

Panasonic first became an Olympic sponsor during the 1988 Calgary Games, Mike Takeda, General Manager for Corporate Communications, explains. The devices that the company will provide for the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics is the largest number that it has provided for any other Olympic venue – 1.7 times what was used during the Athens Games.

The Beijing Olympics are the first Games to be broadcast in high definition (HD) format, presenting a new challenge for the company. While HD technology is already available even to home users, the level of broadcasting stations with the appropriate systems depends on the country. “In Japan,” Takeda says, “we are enjoying HD broadcast in almost every channel. It's the same in the US as well. But in China, they're a little bit behind in introducing it. CCTV, the largest TV station here, just started their test broadcasts in HD format.”

“Panasonic supplies the broadcasting equipment, from 250 studio VTR's to the cameras which are broadcasting the Olympic Games in HD- format. A hundred of these cameras are used in different venues,” Takeda says.

Moving the equipment took almost a year. “It was a big challenge but we've had a long experience doing it. We have a staff of over 100 people to maintain and install Panasonic equipment in all the Olympic venues.”

Panasonic was very much visible during the opening ceremony on August 8. Parts of the show were shown on the Astrovision Large Screen Display System provided by the company. Twenty-five of these screens in 18 venues provided a total display area of 1,290.6 square meters!

Panasonic at an Olympic venue (Image: Panasonic)Takeda notes that Panasonic's involvement with the Olympics is anchored on their respect for the Olympic spirit. “Panasonic's basic business philosophy is to contribute to the progress and development of society and we think the Olympics, where young athletes get together and compete in a very fair and open spirit echoes that.”

“Sponsoring and supplying equipment for the Olympic Games have driven Panasonic to develop higher picture quality products. Our partnership with the IOC and the Olympic Games has helped us improve our technology. We find great value in that.”

“And since we also offer consumer products such as HDTV sets for consumers, we feel that we are contributing in every aspect of the Olympics, not just in the venues but in the homes as well. We help viewers share the passion of the Olympics along with the athletes.”