Intel Corporation and the National Basketball Association (NBA) have announced an agreement whereby Intel and the NBA will develop and distribute interactive NBA content, including enhanced broadband programming and interactive game broadcasts. The initial products to be developed under the agreement will enable users to access daily customized NBA and WNBA highlights and classic moments through NBA.com, WNBA.com and the leagues’ 45 team Web sites.
NBA Commissioner David Stern discusses the NBA-Intel agreement at the press conference.
As part of the agreement, the NBA will join Intel and Excalibur Technologies in a new company they are forming called Convera Corporation. The NBA will receive a 10 percent equity stake in Convera and Commissioner David Stern will join the company’s Board of Directors.
Intel will assign the NBA agreement to Convera upon completion of the Intel-Excalibur transaction, expected later this fall.
Intel and Excalibur announced May 1 that they would form the new company to enable owners of branded high-value content such as the NBA to produce and securely sell their audio, video and other forms of content over the Internet. Convera’s services will include key Intel and Excalibur technologies, including content protection, indexing and search of digital material, and other technologies necessary for the secure delivery of content online.
‘With this agreement with Intel, we believe that essentially we’ve created the recipe for new ways that sports and entertainment will be delivered in the future,’ Stern said. ‘Providing fans with unmatched access to a new level of interactive media such as daily customized highlights and classic footage available on demand from our vast archives enables us to offer personalization for the user’s experience.’
The NBA will use its marketing and consumer knowledge and expertise to further develop applications for its network of Web sites, its business partners, and for NBA.com TV, the league’s 24-hour digital television network. The agreement will provide for new forms of interactive advertising, new commerce opportunities, subscriptions and video on demand.
‘Today’s announcement marks a significant milestone in sports entertainment,’ said Craig Barrett, Intel president and chief executive officer. ‘Intel and the NBA will be working to enable a whole new experience for fans online. We’re excited to be working with one of the leaders in the sports world who has clearly identified the Internet opportunity and is moving quickly to unlock the value, and the action, from their extensive audio and video material.’
For Further Information Please Contact:
Bill Calder
Intel
(503) 264 5669
bill.calder@intel.com
Mike Bass
National Basketball Association
(212) 407 8769
mbass@nba.com