CFL to Offer Groundbreaking Wireless Sports Service for U.S. Fans via Mobile Telephones24 July 2005
Vancouver and Toronto, Canada; New York, New York, July 20, 2005 - The most comprehensive wireless sports content package in North America will be rolled out next month for the Canadian Football League (CFL), marking a major new entry in the rapidly expanding U.S. mobile sports content marketplace.
Offered through first-tier wireless networks and carriers, it is to be the most in-depth mobile content package available from any North American sports league.
The service is developed for the CFL by Setanta Media, and will start with WAP-based (mobile Internet) real-time news and scores for the nine Canadian football teams, along with player profiles, interviews, feature stories, game schedules, venues, and other updates. Following the initial release in August, the service will expand to include SMS applications, downloadable player images, team logos, games, ring-tones and wallpaper, as well as video and audio components.
Setanta Media is the new media arm of the Setanta Sports Group, the United Kingdom's second largest sports broadcaster. Setanta Media already provides wireless content to wireless networks and carriers in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, Europe and Asia for individual teams and sports that include NHL hockey, Wimbledon tennis, Formula 1 racing, European soccer and thoroughbred horse racing.
"We are very excited about the opportunity to further engage and grow our fan base across the U.S. through the delivery of CFL content anytime, anywhere," said CFL Commissioner Tom Wright. "Canadian Football is establishing itself as a global sports franchise, and the use of advanced technology such as mobile content delivery, is key to that success."
Canadian football is particularly attractive for the U.S. wireless sports content market because hundreds of American athletes play for the nine CFL teams each season. For 2005, more than 250 U.S. players are on CFL team rosters, and legendary football stars such as Doug Flutie, Warren Moon, Jeff Garcia and others were in the CFL before joining NFL franchises.
"The new wireless service and storefront will put Canadian football at the leading edge of mobile sports content in the U.S. marketplace, which is poised for explosive growth in the near- and long-term," said Anthony Dillistone, Executive Director of Setanta Media's Mobile Entertainment Group for Asia and the Americas.
This groundbreaking wireless agreement - arranged by New York's Trajectory Sports & Media Group LLC - marks the next step for Setanta Media's continued penetration of the North America mobile sports and entertainment markets with a multi-format content package that uses WAP (Wireless Application Protocol), Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS) and Mobile Multimedia programs.
Trajectory Sports & Media Group has the marketing responsibility for Canadian football coverage in the United States and internationally. For the 2005 season, Trajectory Sports & Media Group has lined up 16 regional sports networks and one national television provider to carry CFL football games - providing coverage in over 70 million U.S. television households. This more than doubles the broadcast reach available in the U.S. at the start of CFL play in 2004, which was the first year of Trajectory Sports & Media Group's partnership with the CFL.
In addition, the CFL's July-November season fills a void between the end of TV broadcast coverage for the spring football leagues (NFL Europe and Arena Football) and the start of the fall NFL season.
"The new wireless sports channel will make Canadian football even more attractive to U.S. viewers, who already like to watch fast-paced CFL games and their favorite American players," said Richard Stone, the president of Trajectory Sports & Media Group. "The CFL's popularity is soaring because American fans like following players from their own area, and they love Canadian football's fast pace, with only three downs, no fair catch and a 20-second time limit to put the ball in play."
Source: OurSportsCentral.com
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