Fox Sports Announces First-Ever Digital Distribution of Full-Length Bowl Championship Series™ Games; Full-Length and Condensed BCS Games; Highlight Packages and Exclusive Preview Shows Available Online Beginning December 28
FOX Sports announced that, for the first time ever, full-length games from the 2007 Tostitos™ Bowl Bash on FOX – which includes The AT&T™ Cotton Bowl Classic, The Tostitos™ Fiesta Bowl, The FedEx™ Orange Bowl, The Allstate™ Sugar Bowl and The Tostitos BCS National Championship Game – will be available on the Internet via several leading digital download sites beginning December 28. Developed in partnership with the Bowl Championship Series, the complete content offering, which includes full-length games, condensed games, preview shows and highlights, is one of the most comprehensive collections of digital downloads ever to be made available online in association with a major sporting event. It also marks the first time that FOX Sports has made downloadable content available for sports fans on the Web.
Fans can access the Tostitos Bowl Bash downloads by visiting FOX Sports on MSN (http://foxsports.com), Fox Interactive Media’s Direct2Drive (http://direct2drive.com), Apple’s iTunes, Amazon’s Unbox, AOL Video, CinemaNow and Instant Media. FOX Sports on MSN and Direct2Drive will also offer a comprehensive programming hub for the Tostitos Bowl Bash, including a free, live simulcast of the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, which marks the first time a January 1st bowl game has been streamed live on the Internet.
Through this groundbreaking digital distribution program, college football fans will be able to purchase preview shows covering each of the BCS games airing on FOX Sports and also pre-order full-length games, highlight packages and “Short Cuts” ‘” a condensed version that allows users to watch each game in approximately 20 minutes. Fans can purchase single-game highlights or a “Best of the Bowl Bash” highlight package that will feature the best plays from all five games in one program produced exclusively for digital distribution.
“Sports fans are consuming content on new and different platforms every day, and our goal is to expand the reach of FOX Sports and the BCS to as many of those media platforms as possible,” said Ed Goren, President of FOX Sports. “By working with great distribution partners both within the FOX family and externally, we have given college football fans an incredible amount of choice when looking for official BCS content online.”
“Our goal is to expand the reach of the Bowl Championship Series through as many platforms as possible, and digital rights have become a more important part of the media mix every year,” said Gary Ehrlich, Executive Vice President of FOX Sports Enterprises. “This content offering represents important first steps in digital delivery for both the BCS and FOX Sports, and we look forward to finding more ways to deliver sports content to fans via digital download in the future.”
Preview shows will be available through all distribution channels starting December 28, and will in many cases feature both game overviews and team-centric preview packages.
Though exact timing may vary, most full-length games will be available for download within 24 hours of a given game’s completion, and several distribution partners will enable fans to pre-order any of the games starting December 28.
Preview shows, “Short-Cuts” and the “Best of the Bowl Bash” highlight program will be priced at $1.99 each, while full-length games ‘” which will typically include halftime shows, post-game interviews and trophy presentations ‘” will cost $2.99. Fans will be able to purchase all of the preview shows, every Bowl Bash full-length game and the “Best of the Bowl Bash” highlight package for a discounted price of $19.99. In addition, select retail partners will allow fans of participating teams to purchase all products related to a specific BCS Bowl game ‘” including previews shows, the full-length game, the “Short-Cut” and the “Best of the Bowl Bash” highlight package ‘” for a discounted price of $6.99.
While serving as one of the distribution channels for downloadable BCS content, FOX Sports on MSN will also offer its users a wealth of free video and audio content related to college football’s biggest week. The site will deliver free live audio streaming of four BCS games, provide pre- and post-game video reports from several bowl locations, and serve as the home for FOX College Bowl Pick ’em – the official fantasy game of the Bowl Championship Series.
“With more than a month of hype leading up to the games, college football fans are hungry for any and all BCS content in advance of the broadcasts,” said Brian Grey, Senior Vice President of FOX Sports Interactive. “From pre-game shows to live game streaming, we are delivering the same great FOX Sports content to fans, whether they’re tuning into the games on television or visiting us on the Web.”
About FOX Sports
On its way to a 10th straight year as America’s top-rated network for sports (1997-2006), FOX Sports boasts rights agreements with each of the nation’s highest-rated sports. FOX Sports is the exclusive national over-the-air television rights holder of the Cotton Bowl; Major League Baseball, including the All-Star Game, alternating League Championship Series and World Series (2007-2013); the National Football League’s NFC package, including the NFC Championship Game and Super Bowls XLII and XLV (2006-2011); and NASCAR’s NEXTEL Cup racing from February through May, including the Daytona 500 (2007-2014). In January 2007, FOX Sports also begins exclusive coverage of Bowl Championship Series, featuring the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, FedEx Orange Bowl and Allstate Sugar Bowl from 2007 through 2010, and the new BCS National Championship Game from 2007 through 2009. Since its inception in 1994, FOX Sports has earned 68 Emmy Awards for production excellence. David Hill and Ed Goren are the Executive Producers of FOX Sports.
About Fox Sports on MSN
FOXSports.com, a unit of Fox Interactive Media, is a leading sports Website that delivers breaking news, real-time stats and fantasy games to more than 15 million unique visitors every month. An online extension of FOX Sports’ television coverage, the site provides sports fans with a wealth of exclusive online video content, and is the industry leader in the delivery of sports content to mobile devices via its Fox Sports Mobile products.
About Direct2Drive
A unit of Fox Interactive Media, Direct2Drive (D2D) is IGN Entertainment’s digital retail store (http://www.direct2drive.com). Launched in October 2004, D2D allows consumers to conveniently purchase and download the latest premium video games, feature films, popular TV shows and anime directly from the Web to their desktops. D2D’s AAA roster of leading game publishers includes Atari, Activision, Blizzard Entertainment, Eidos, Electronic Arts, Namco, NCsoft, SEGA, Sony Online Entertainment, 2K Games, Ubisoft and Vivendi Universal Games. In addition, Twentieth Century Fox, Lionsgate and Starz Media provide blockbuster movies and TV shows as well as top anime titles.
All names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
