Yahoo! And NBA Partner To Highlight Game 5 Of NBA Finals Through Yahoo!'s Home Page NBA is First Sports Property to be Prominently Featured on www.yahoo.com NEW YORK, NY and SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- June 14, 2001 -- Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) have partnered to highlight the NBA Finals on Yahoo!'s home page, (www.yahoo.com), one of the most trafficked sites on the Internet. Throughout the day on Friday, June 15, fans will have one-click, on-demand access to unique video highlights from NBA Finals Games 1 through 4 with an NBC tune-in message for Game 5, expansive coverage on Yahoo!Ò Sports and NBA.com, and shopping on the NBA Store and Yahoo! Auctions for Finals memorabilia and more. Game 5 of The NBA Finals will air on Friday night at 9 p.m. Eastern on NBC.
This one-day effort, which marks the first time Yahoo! has prominently featured a sports property on its home page, was created as an extension of the NBA and Yahoo!'s broad content and marketing relationship and runs all day Friday. Fans can watch video highlights at speeds of 56kbs, 100kbs and 300kbs, and from the video viewing box, can link to several NBA.com features, including Finals coverage, the NBA Trivia Challenge, My Highlights - a personalized streaming video highlights application, and a preview of the NBA Draft.
"When it comes to visibility on the Web, Yahoo!'s home page is highly-valued real estate," said Matt Rightmire, vice president and general manager of Yahoo!'s media group. "The NBA and NBA Finals will receive tremendous global branding through this placement, helping to extend their brand to basketball fans and Internet users around the world. The NBA Finals is a pinnacle of professional sports, and we're thrilled to be providing this unique content to our global audience."
"Yahoo! users will enjoy one-click access to unique NBA Finals content," said Jonathan Press, NBA Vice President. "Broadcast in 205 countries and 41 languages, the NBA Finals is truly a global event which translates well with Yahoo!'s large audience around the world. Our joint effort will drive fans to catch the next installment of a thrilling NBA Finals series."
In addition to video highlights from Yahoo!'s front page, Yahoo! Sports, the Web's most popular sports site1, provides streaming services for NBA Audio League Pass and WNBA Audio Season Pass. In total, Yahoo!'s broadcast capabilities provide fans access to live and on-demand audio and video programming from more than 500 college and professional sports leagues and teams, including the teams that represent more than 130 colleges and universities.
About the NBA Since its founding in 1946, the NBA has become a global phenomenon that transcends national boundaries. With 29 teams in the United States and Canada, NBA games and related programming are broadcast to 210 countries in 42 languages. The NBA is one of the largest suppliers of sports television and Internet languages. The NBA is one of the largest suppliers of sports television and Internet programming in the world. Through NBA Entertainment, the league's award-winning production and programming division, the league produces NBA.com TV, a 24-hour television network, weekly television shows, and exclusive content for each of the NBA's team Web sites, and the league's official site, NBA.com. The league has partnered with the leading Internet content and technology providers, including America Online, Convera, IBM, RealNetworks, USA Networks, and Yahoo! to bring the game experience even closer to its fans worldwide. For more information on the NBA, visit http://www.nba.com
About Yahoo! Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) is a leading global Internet communications, commerce and media company that offers a comprehensive branded network of services to more than 192 million individuals each month worldwide. As the first online navigational guide to the Web, www.yahoo.com is the leading guide in terms of traffic, advertising, household and business user reach. Yahoo! is the No. 1 Internet brand globally and reaches the largest audience worldwide. The company also provides online business and enterprise services designed to enhance the productivity and Web presence of Yahoo!'s clients. These services include Corporate Yahoo!, a popular customized enterprise portal solution; audio and video streaming; store hosting and management; and Web site tools and services. The company's global Web network includes 24 World properties. Yahoo! has offices in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Canada and the United States, and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif.
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