Euro 2008 on the Â鶹Éç
Introduction
Football fans will be able to follow Euro 2008 wherever they are in the UK, on whatever device they have to hand, with the most comprehensive coverage yet across the Â鶹Éç's television, radio and interactive services.
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The Â鶹Éç will be covering every kick of every game of Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland. Â鶹Éç Radio 5 Live has all the games on live (with games on Â鶹Éç 5 Live Sports Extra when there is a clash).
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Â鶹Éç Television is covering 16 games live, including the first game and the last – the final is exclusively live on Â鶹Éç One on Sunday 29 June – and will offer late-night highlights of all the games that are not covered live.
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In addition, for the first time at a European Championship, live video coverage will be available on the web for all the Â鶹Éç's live games.
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In another first, goals highlights from all the games played in the tournament will be available to internet-enabled mobile phones.
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Highlights packages of various lengths will be available online, on Â鶹Éç iPlayer.
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There is also an extensive website offering information, stats, live text commentary, behind-the-scenes video diaries, photos, blogs, and interactive elements such as Player Ratings and Squad Selector.
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For the first time, all of the live matches will be shown in High Definition on the Â鶹Éç's HD Channel, which is extending its normal hours to provide full coverage of the finals.
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Â鶹Éç TV's presentation teams will be based in Austria, with a studio in the historic centre of Vienna close to the Fan Mile.
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"We felt it was important to be out there even though none of the home nations are taking part," says Phil Bigwood, executive producer of the Â鶹Éç's TV coverage of the tournament. "That way we can better reflect the atmosphere and excitement of the event as well as get a taste of the culture of both Austria and Switzerland.
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"Even without national involvement we expect interest to still be very strong. There are plenty of big names taking part – many of them familiar Premier League players – and because it's a much more concentrated event than the World Cup, the quality of the football tends to be higher. There'll be plenty of drama and excitement – it's a major tournament and we wanted to reflect that in our coverage."
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Similarly 5 Live will be immersing itself in Euro 2008, with news, reports and gossip featuring throughout the day in scheduled programming building up to the games themselves.
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