IOC Extends Samsung Partnership

(ATR) Samsung will be the exclusive wireless communication and computing partner of the IOC through the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Thomas Bach travelled to Seoul to sign the agreement at Samsung headquarters, following a 10-day trip to Tokyo. He was joined by Samsung chairman Jay Lee and IOC Marketing Commission Chair Tsunekazu Takeda.

Samsung became a TOP Sponsor of the IOC in 1998 for the Nagano Olympics. By the end of the current deal the company will have been a sponsor for 16 Olympic Games.

"We have built a partnership combining Olympic excellence and Samsung’s industry-leading wireless communications technology," Bach said in a statement. "Together, we are able to connect with and inspire Olympic athletes and fans around the world, and we look forward to working with Samsung to build the digital future of the Olympic Games."

Samsung provides each member of the Olympic family and Olympic athletes with a special edition phone at the Games. Another area of the partnership says Samsung can "promote" 5G telecommunication networks including with Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality.

The partnership will extend beyond the Olympics to include all editions of the Youth Olympic Games. An extension on the company’s worldwide partnership with the International Paralympic Committee was included in the deal.

With Samsung, the IOC has five companies in its TOP Sponsorship signed through the 2028 Olympics. This includes Allianz, Alibaba, Omega, and Visa. The latter two companies are signed all the way through 2032.

Atos, Coca-Cola, Dow, GE, and P&G are the five TOP Sponsors which only have agreements until 2020.

"Samsung understands and promotes the Olympic values through technology and marketing campaigns that help break down barriers and engage new audiences," Takeda said in a statement.

"From a commercial perspective, our extension with Samsung to 2028 builds on the long-term agreements reached recently with existing and new Partners, and demonstrates the long-term strength and appeal of our marketing programs."

Written by Aaron Bauer in Tokyo

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