NBA.com And IGN.com Team-Up For 2005 NBA Playoffs
NEW YORK and BRISBANE, Calif. - May 12, 2005 - The NBA and IGN Entertainment, the leading gaming information network and a leading provider of file distribution, digital retail and in-game technology, have teamed-up for the remainder of the 2005 NBA Playoffs to provide fans visiting NBA.com with unique sports, videogame and entertainment content from IGN.com, and gamers visiting IGN.com with access to NBA.com's wealth of in-depth basketball content.
As part of the agreement, IGN.com's millions of sports fans will have access to NBA.com news, feature articles, statistics, player histories and more via a fixed NBA Headlines content section on the sports homepage sports.ign.com. "What's New at IGN.com" will bring the best of IGN.com's entertainment and lifestyle content to NBA.com. During the 2005 NBA Playoffs, IGN.com's editors will also appear on NBA TV providing their insight and knowledge on the gaming industry.
"This provides IGN's millions of users with a huge, instantly accessible resource of everything NBA," said David Tokheim, VP of Marketing. "With both the NBA and IGN.com having a large following with 18-34 year old males, this was a perfect fit for both of us to share our content and expertise."
The NBA recently continued its commitment to the video game industry, with new non-exclusive licensing agreements with five publishers to develop, publish and distribute NBA video games. Today, NBA video games are available to fans in more than 100 countries and on more platforms than ever before, maximizing the reach of NBA video games around the world.
IGN.com, IGN Entertainment's flagship website, reaches the highest concentration of 18-34 year old males online, according to Nielsen//NetRatings @Plan Spring 2005 release. IGN Entertainment's network of media properties reaches an audience of more than 24 million unique visitors worldwide.
About IGN Entertainment
IGN Entertainment operates many of the Internet's leading destinations for video gaming, entertainment and community targeted at teens and 18-34 year-old males. The company's properties include IGN.com, GameSpy, Rotten Tomatoes, FilePlanet, GameSpy Arcade, GameSpy Arena, Direct2Drive, TeamXbox, 3D Gamers, more than 70 community sites and a vast array of online forums. Collectively, these properties reached 24 million users worldwide* in the month of March 2005, according to Internet audience measurement firm comScore Media Metrix. IGN Entertainment is also a leading provider of technology for online game play in video games. The company's paid content, download and game play services are among the most popular game-related subscriptions available on the Internet. The privately held company has its headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices throughout the U.S.
About the NBA
Since its founding in 1946, the NBA has truly become a global phenomenon that transcends national boundaries. With 30 teams in the United States and Canada, NBA games and related programming are broadcast to 214 countries in 43 languages via 157 telecasters; they are one of the largest suppliers of sports television and Internet programming in the world. NBA.com, with more than half of all visits to the site coming from fans outside the United States, has nine language-specific international destinations for fans around the world. The NBA is a recognized leader in global sports marketing with 13 offices around the world. From June to November 2004, the NBA conducted 36 events with 30 partners on six continents. The league opened the 2004-05 season with 81 international players from 35 different countries and territories.
*Worldwide data cited herein represent an aggregate of 32 countries reported by comScore Media Metrix on a monthly basis.
*IGN Entertainment, IGN.com, GameSpy, Rotten Tomatoes, FilePlanet, Direct2Drive, GameSpy Arcade, GameSpy Arena and TeamXbox are trademarks of IGN Entertainment. Other trademarks and copyrights mentioned are the properties of their respective holders.