NBA at-home viewing just got better with Verizon FiOS TV’s NBA LEAGUE PASS Widget
Verizon FiOS TV – the ultimate home-entertainment experience – is now providing an enhanced NBA viewing experience. The advanced, all-fiber-optic TV service now includes a free NBA LEAGUE PASS Widget, which lets fans order NBA LEAGUE PASS – the league’s subscription package of up to 40 out-of-market live NBA games per week – directly from their remote control.
In addition, the widget will give fans instant access to headline news, player reports, game-time alerts and more throughout the basketball season.
“FiOS TV is an NBA fan’s courtside seat at home,” said Shawn Strickland, vice president of consumer strategy for Verizon. “In addition to top NBA programming on NBA LEAGUE PASS and NBA TV, our new widget provides fans with statistics and news from around the league.”
The NBA LEAGUE PASS Widget is located in FiOS TV’s innovative Widget Bazaar applications marketplace. Once launched, the interactive application is displayed on the right side of the screen next to the program the subscriber is watching.
NBA TV, the NBA’s 24-hour digital television network, offers more than 100 live NBA games and signature studio shows featuring an Emmy Award-winning roster of announcers. The network is a fan’s all-access channel for everything about basketball, delivering breaking news, statistics and original programming – in both standard definition and HD. NBA TV is available at no additional charge as part of FiOS TV’s Extreme HD package, Verizon’s most popular offering, together with ESPN HD, NFL Network HD and other popular programming services.
Verizon is the only company in the U.S. to bring 100 percent fiber optics straight to the home, delivering America’s top-rated broadband with download connections speeds of up to 50 megabits per second, more pure HD TV channels, amazing picture-and-sound quality, and interactive capabilities that cable can’t match.
FiOS TV offers a broad collection of programming, with more than 500 all-digital channels, including more than 127 HD channels, and more than 18,000 monthly VOD titles. FiOS provides next-generation interactive services including an advanced interactive media guide; news, entertainment and social TV Widgets; remote DVR management; multi-room DVR; and more.
Source: Verizon
Vicks to send a lucky fan to cheer on team USA at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games
Vicks Partners with Apolo Anton Ohno and Lindsey Jacobellis in the Vicks “Tweet Your Way to See Team USA” Sweepstakes
Vicks, the brand consumers have trusted for more than five generations, announced this morning it has partnered with Olympians Apolo Anton Ohno and Lindsey Jacobellis in a viral campaign that will send one lucky fan and a friend to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games to cheer on Team USA in Vancouver. The sweepstakes, “Tweet Your Way to See Team USA,” begins today and will run through January 4th.
“Athletes like myself train their whole lives to compete in the Olympic Games and having fans on the sidelines cheering Team USA at the biggest sporting event in the world makes all the difference for an athlete,” says Apolo Anton Ohno. “It’s so hard to get tickets to the Olympics, but now thanks to Vicks, all my fans have a chance to win a trip to 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver to support me and all of Team USA in person.”
To enter the Vicks “Tweet Your Way to See Team USA” sweepstakes, consumers must first “follow” Apolo and Lindsey on the communications platform, Twitter. Fans can then watch for Lindsey and Apolo to send the official URL to all their followers via Twitter. Click on the URL, enter your email and you’re automatically entered to win a fabulous, once-in-a-lifetime trip for two to Vancouver to attend the 2010 Olympic Winter Games to cheer on Team USA. You may also re-tweet a message about the sweepstakes to all of your followers for another chance to win and to spread the good news. Consumers can enter to win once a day, with an opportunity to earn a bonus entry per day. For fans without a Twitter account, more information on how to submit an entry using an email address is available at www.Tweet2CTeamUSA.com.
“Having fans support Team USA at the Olympic Winter Games really keeps the athletes spirits high,” says Lindsey Jacobellis. “I’m really excited to be a part of this sweepstakes because I love when the fans can come see us compete and cheer us on.”
Vicks is a proud sponsor of Team USA and is pleased to be the official sponsor of cough, cold and flu medicine of the U.S. Olympic Team. To learn more about Vicks and the “Tweet Your Way to See Team USA” sweepstakes, consumers can log on to www.Vicks.com.
Source: Vicks
MLB.com, Turner Sports and FOX Sports give fans live user-controlled views for every MLB postseason game
Collaboration expands TBS HotCorner and FOX Feeds action and introduces mobile video
Postseason.TV, a live interactive online viewing experience delivered by MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League Baseball, in partnership with MLB Postseason national television rightsholders, Turner Sports and FOX Sports, will debut on Wednesday, October 7, 2009, when the Division Series begins on TBS. Postseason.TV will be accessible from MLB.com, FoxSports.com on MSN and MLB.com/TBSHotCorner.
The subscription product provides fans the ability to customize their online viewing experience by offering up to 10 different stationary camera angles from every MLB Postseason game, blackout free. Postseason.TV delivers a complementary way for viewers to engage with the Division Series and National League Championship Series broadcasts on TBS and the American League Championship Series and World Series on FOX, while, for the first time, offering a complete package of live Postseason action for a one-time fee of $9.95.
Subscribers to Postseason.TV can choose to watch one of the available camera angles or up to any four different angles simultaneously in the multi-view option. In addition, TBS HotCorner and FOX Feeds will provide access to in-game video highlights, real-time statistics and play-by-play and social media integration through a live Twitter feed.
Fans also will have the opportunity to make Postseason.TV portable as MLB.com At Bat 2009, the award-winning application built exclusively for iPhone(TM) and iPod® touch, will provide mobile access to the same live camera angles as well as the quad mode option.
Source: MLB.com; Turner Sports; FOX Sports
NBA superstar Kobe Bryant and Panini announce exclusive trading card agreement
The Panini Group, the NBA’s exclusive trading card partner, has signed four-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers as its official company spokesman and global trading card ambassador.
Bryant’s exclusive multi-year agreement with Panini includes autographs, memorabilia, and a joint charitable component. The deal is a landmark one for the trading-card industry and will help to re-energize the basketball collectibles market both in the United States and Internationally.
“I am honored to join the Panini family,” Bryant said. “Panini and I are really excited about embracing the challenge of re-igniting the collecting of basketball trading cards and sticker collections . . . and everyone knows I like challenges! We look forward to building off the momentum generated from last season’s NBA Championship, and taking that energy to another level. I know from my own experience growing up, how fun collecting and trading these products can be. I really believe collecting these products has the power, through the unique emotions of sports, to unify and strengthen bonds within families and across social groups, no matter what age you are. Panini and I are passionate about developing this hobby in many new and exciting ways. All I can say for now is to have fun expecting the unexpected from us!”
Panini’s inaugural first NBA trading card release, Panini Prestige Basketball, will launch on Oct. 7 and will feature the first authentic autographs from Bryant. He also will appear on Panini’s packaging for future NBA trading card releases and within advertising with future television and radio commercials planned.
“Kobe is going to be the face of Panini basketball and help to get kids excited about NBA trading cards,” said Panini Group Licensing Director Peter Warsop. “He will serve as the greatest of ambassadors for Panini basketball products around the world. We couldn’t be more proud to be associated with one of the most spectacular and transcendent athletes on the planet.”
The Panini/Kobe relationship began long before this exclusive agreement, dating back to Bryant’s childhood growing up in Italy. The Panini Group was originally founded in Modena, Italy almost 50 years ago and its corporate headquarters remain there. The Bryant family moved to Italy when Bryant was six years old as his father, former NBA player Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, began playing professionally there. Bryant, who speaks fluent Italian, became a huge soccer fan and collected Panini stickers.
Panini remains the global leader in sports and entertainment collectibles and has an exclusive license with FIFA for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.
“Signing Kobe shows the depth of commitment that Panini has toward offering the very best of basketball products, be it Trading Cards or Stickers and Albums,” Peter Warsop said. “Kobe’s intense focus and championship drive personifies the traits that Panini has exhibited in becoming the leading publisher of collectibles around the world. He brings enormous excitement not only to the game of basketball, but to collecting as well”
In January 2009, the NBA announced Panini will become the exclusive Trading Card partner of the NBA beginning with the 2009-10 season. The Panini Group purchased the industry’s second-oldest Trading-Card company, Donruss, in March and formed the new subsidiary, Panini America, Inc. Since that time, Panini has taken significant steps to fortify its position on the basketball landscape, including an exclusive marketing and advertising partnership with the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Kobe Bryant is a Four-time NBA Champion, the 2009 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player, a 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist, and the 2007-2008 NBA Most Valuable Player. Kobe was recently named Sporting News’ “NBA Player of the Decade”, and his NBA jersey continues to be the #1 seller in the United States, China and Europe. Kobe has earned All-NBA honors in each of the last eleven seasons and has been named to the NBA’s All Defensive Team nine times. In addition to his excellence on the court, throughout his career Kobe has dedicated his philanthropic passion and spirit to a variety of causes benefitting children in need. Since joining the NBA 11 years ago, Kobe has partnered with Make-A-Wish Foundation to grant more than 100 wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions and was honored by the NBA in 2007 for granting more wishes than any other athlete. Recently Kobe has acted as an ambassador for the national charity, After-School All-Stars, and launched his own foundation, the Kobe Bryant Family Foundation, in an effort to expand his personal commitment to children around the world. In the summer of 2009 Kobe founded the Kobe China Fund, a global charitable initiative dedicated to improving the welfare and education of youth in China.
Source: Panini America, Inc.