MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., July 27, 2000 — Microsoft WebTV Networks, Inc., and the Oakland A’s today announced that 24 Oakland A’s baseball games airing this season on FOX Sports Net Bay Area are now interactive on the Microsoft® WebTV® Plus service. This is the first time a professional sports franchise has used the interactive television format on a local level.
The official launch of Oakland A’s interactive baseball will be Friday, July 28, when the A’s host the Boston Red Sox for the first of three consecutive interactive games. Twenty-one additional A’s games will be interactive throughout the season. The interactive format enables WebTV Plus subscribers to click on the lineup for the Oakland A’s and the opposing team, from which viewers can access player profiles and stats from the current game as well as the entire season. A live scoring update for all major league baseball games being played is also available.
The Oakland A’s interactive television test is produced by ACS Sports.com Inc., the company that produces the Oakland A’s Web site. ACS Sports, with offices in Baltimore and New York, is a new media company that specializes in the creation, management and delivery of interactive, broadband content for professional sports teams and broadcasters.
“Americans have an insatiable appetite for baseball. The Oakland A’s interactive games will allow baseball fans to know everything about their favorite teams and players without ever leaving their couch,”
said Joe Poletto, vice president of the Network Media Group at WebTV Networks.
“The interactive element will be a fun experience for our fans,”
said Ken Pries, vice president of broadcasting and communications for the Oakland A’s.
“It should be a great complement to our telecasts.”
Microsoft WebTV Networks is a major sponsor of the Oakland A’s baseball team. Through the A’s Community Fund, WebTV Networks has supported various charities. For each home run hit this season by Jason or Jeremy Giambi, WebTV Networks will contribute $1,000 to Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Bay Area, as well as donate a WebTV Plus box to an Oakland-area school. WebTV Networks is also a pregame sponsor of the A’s radio broadcasts.
About Microsoft WebTV Networks
Microsoft WebTV Networks, Inc., is a leading provider of enhanced-TV services using Internet and digital technologies. WebTV Networks offers a range of enhanced-TV services for set-top boxes, satellite products and other TV-related devices. WebTV Networks owns and operates a network of TV services and provides enabling software and hardware reference designs to consumer electronics manufacturers.
WebTV Networks, based in Mountain View, Calif., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corp. Microsoft incorporates WebTV technologies in the Microsoft TV software platform, which it licenses to television network operators and consumer electronics manufacturers worldwide.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
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