European Broadcasting Union secures key agreement with UEFA

The agreement secures access for public service radio to technical reporting facilities at each of the matches in the two tournaments. It covers 19 radio broadcasters in key territories which were not already included in existing TV contracts for the tournament. Public service broadcasters in the host countries – Denmark for the Under-21, plus Poland and Ukraine for Euro 2012 – are also included in this agreement.

It follows EBU Radio's landmark agreement four years ago for the 2008 European Football Championship.

EBU Radio Director Raina Konstantinova believes that football fans will profit most from the agreement. "Thanks to the ubiquity and mobility of radio, football fans in more than a dozen countries will be able to enjoy coverage of these exciting events wherever they are and whatever they are doing," says Ms Konstantinova.

UEFA issued a statement saying that, "Following a very successful experience with the EBU during UEFA EURO 2008, we are extremely pleased to be in a position to extend our partnership for UEFA EURO 2012 and the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship."

Head of EBU Radio Sport Michael Mullane hailed the agreement as a win-win for European broadcasters and football. "This is good for radio and good for football. Broadcasters who could not otherwise have covered the event will be able to offer their audiences live, delayed and on-demand radio reports from the most important sport competitions in Europe," says Mr Mullane.

The territories covered by the radio agreement include the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Israel, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine and the UK (only for the European Under-21 Football Championship).