RealNetworks Goes Back To School With OCSN
Aug. 25, 2002
SEATTLE, August 20, 2002- RealNetworks?, Inc (Nasdaq: RNWK), the global leader in Internet media delivery, has partnered with the Official College Sports Network (OCSN), just in time for the 2002 college football season. The two companies will bring exciting, multi-media content including live audio broadcasts of the best in college football, basketball, baseball and other sports from more than 45 top colleges and universities to college sports fans across the Internet via a new subscription-only service called College SportsPass.
This exciting college package will kick off the fall sports season by providing live audio coverage of brand-name football games to fans everywhere via the Internet. College SportsPass will launch with defending national champion and pre-season No. 1 Miami (FL), nationally ranked Washington, Michigan State, Illinois, Arizona and more than 40 others. With membership, a sports fan or alumni living in one region of the country can now listen live to his or her favorite team playing in another region of the country, by simply logging into their College SportsPass in RealOneTM Player.
College-sports enthusiasts will also be treated to audio and/or video from press conferences, weekly coach's shows, highlight shows, live statistics breakdowns, league standings and other relevant programming as individually offered by school. For just $6.95 month- with a portion of the proceeds directly benefiting the athletic departments of the participating schools- subscribers will be treated to the highest bandwidth live broadcast yet available from their college.
To sign up for the subscription, college sports fans merely need to go to the official athletic site of their university, www.realone.com, or directly to their RealOne Player. A full list of participating colleges may be found at: www.collegesports.com. RealNetworks' RealOne SuperPass members may also choose to upgrade their subscription for an additional $4.00 per month to get the best in college sports, over and above the premium sports programming that they already receive from MLB.com, NBA, FOX Sports, NASCAR, CNNsi and more. College SportsPass enthusiasts who sign up through RealOne SuperPass will receive a 14-day free trial.
"With the addition of OCSN to our other sports partners such as MLB.com, NASCAR and the NBA, RealOne is solidifying its position as the preeminent sports destination online," stated Scott Ehrlich, Vice President, Media Acquisition and Distribution, RealNetworks, Inc. "Now, RealNetworks is truly moving into the big leagues... by harnessing the best in both college and professional sports, we're able to provide sports fans with the ultimate in sports programming only available on RealOne."
The action doesn't end with the football season, either. Member schools will provide subscribers with any sport that is covered by their media networks-whether it's basketball, baseball or any other sport broadcast via OCSN.
"Through College SportsPass, Real and OCSN will be bringing the best-of-class multi-media content available on the Internet today to the most avid college sports fans," stated Jeff Cravens, OCSN President. "We're excited to not only introduce this program, but to work with RealNetworks and our universities to develop premium, exclusive content targeted at the most loyal fan base in sports."
About Official College Sports Network The Official College Sports Network (OCSN), formerly the FANSonly Network, is the largest aggregation of online content, commerce and consumers focused on college athletics. Through its Official Athletic Sites, OCSN provides online brand management, content delivery, consumer marketing, and business/commerce solutions to more than 130 university athletic departments, conferences and associations throughout the country. More information about Official College Sports Network is located on the Internet at www.collegesports.com. OCSN is a Student Advantage Inc. business.
About RealOne RealOneTM SuperPass, the fastest growing Internet paid media subscription service in history with more than a half-million paid subscribers, is the single source for consumers to discover, play and manage the best in brand-name digital programming - sports, entertainment and news from ABCNEWS.com, CNN, E! Networks, FOXSports.com, MLB, NASCAR.com, NBA and more. An all-in-one service and technology platform, RealOne is the streamlined integration of the playback, download and management functions of RealPlayer? and RealJukebox? combined with a media browser and content discovery window, and united with a significantly enhanced subscription service. More information about RealNetworks' RealOneTM is located on the Internet at www.real.com.
About RealNetworks RealNetworks, Inc., based in Seattle, is the global leader in Internet media delivery. It develops and markets software products and services designed to enable users of personal computers and other consumer electronic devices to send and receive audio, video and other multimedia services using the Web. Consumers can access and experience audio/video programming and download RealNetworks' consumer software on the Internet at http://www.real.com. RealNetworks' systems and corporate information is located on the Internet at http://realnetworks.com.
For More Information, Press Only, Contact: Glenn Mastro, Mastro Communications, Inc., (732) 469-5700, gmastro@mastrocomm.com Ari Edelman, Mastro Communications, Inc., (732) 469-5700, aedelman@mastrocomm.com Lisa Amore, RealNetworks, (206) 674-2221, lamore@real.com Jeff Cravens, Official College Sports Network, (404) 592-3221, jcravens@ocsn.com
RealNetworks, RealOne, RealOne Player and RealOne SuperPass are trademarks or registered trademarks of RealNetworks, Inc. All other companies or products listed herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.