Wednesday, August 08, 2007

TURNER SPORTS INKS DEAL WITH THE AMERICAN BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

(ATLANTA, GA, August 8, 2007) PlayON! Sports, a division of Turner Sports, and the American Basketball Association (ABA) announced today an agreement to provide online streaming of the league's games on an exclusive ABA broadband channel beginning with the 2007-08 season. Throughout the season, which begins November 10th, select regular season and playoff games will be available both live and on-demand via the broadband channel, marking the first time that the ABA will offer online streaming of its basketball games. Web streaming of the games will be on a subscription basis and will initially include approx. 300 games featuring ABA teams in the US, Canada and Mexico. All games will be available internationally. Additional details regarding the schedule and teams will be available upon the start of the season.

"The American and international teams that comprise the ABA are known for both their spirited play and athleticism. We are thrilled to expand the PlayON! Sports portfolio with the ABA, and give basketball fans around the world access to the excitement of the league from the comfort of their computer," said Phil Sharpe, SVP/GM of the PlayON! Sports.

"We are very pleased and proud to be a part of Turner Broadcasting and are excited that we can bring the live action of ABA basketball games worldwide," said Paul Riley, VP of ABA Media. "Fans will be able to see virtually every team in the league, and once they do, they will realize why the ABA has grown as it has. It is fast-paced and exciting basketball - and now the world can see it."

The ABA joins an expanding portfolio of PlayON! Sports properties including the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Atlantic Sun Conference (A-Sun) and United Soccer League (USL). PlayON! Sports is a division of Turner Sports which operates and manages new media businesses for sports properties, including NASCAR.com, PGATOUR.com, PGA.com.

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