BEIJING, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Xinhua Sports & Entertainment Limited (Nasdaq: XSEL; "XSEL"), a leading sports and entertainment media company in China, today announced it has signed an additional agreement with Ultimate Fighting Championship(R) (UFC(R)), expanding on its television rights in China to include rights on mobile and internet platforms for 2009.
Ms. Fredy Bush, Chief Executive Officer of XSEL said, "XSEL is delighted to be further expanding its partnership with the UFC, the world's leading mixed martial arts organization, beyond television. With mobile and internet rights, we are excited about the prospect of bringing the excitement of UFC to the over 640 million mobile and internet users in China."
"UFC's ratings on NMTV are amazing, we knew UFC would be a big hit in China, so we are excited that XSEL will expand distribution and make UFC available through the Internet and on mobile devices," said Dana White, UFC President. "Now all of our sports fans in China can get UFC content online, and learn more about their favorite fighters and upcoming UFC events.
"Under the agreement, XSEL will offer a full array of subscription based mobile value-added services to UFC fans in China including streams of UFC weigh-in events, video previews of UFC match-ups, event images, java games, news updates, fighter profiles and images, ringtones, wallpapers and more.
In addition, XSEL will stream UFC events on university campuses to a potential audience of 30 million Chinese students via its university campus portal Koobee. Koobee is a video streaming portal delivering a wealth of sports and entertainment programming to Chinese university students through the exclusive access to the dedicated nationwide university intranet. Recently XSEL has facilitated the introduction of all matches of the full 2009 season of English Premier League on Koobee.
UFC is currently available nationwide in China to over 250,000,000 viewers on NMTV's Fight Weekend, airing 3 hours each Saturday and Sunday. The program airs on Inner Mongolia Satellite Channel, a nationwide free-to-air television station in China, every Saturday and Sunday from 2:00-5:00 pm. Since its launch in April of this year, Fight Weekend has seen its market share increase 103% and a consistent weekly viewership of approximately half a million viewers.
For more information:
Media Contact
Joy Tsang, XSEL, +86 10 8567 6050; +86 136 2179 1577;
joy.tsang@xsel.com
IR Contact
Edward Liu, XSEL, +86 10 8567 6061; +86 139 1610 1635;
edward.liu@xsel.com
Howard Gostfrand, American Capital Ventures, +1 305-918-7000;
toll free +1 877 918 0774;
info@amcapventures.com
About XSEL
Xinhua Sports & Entertainment Limited ("XSEL"; Nasdaq: XSEL) is a leading sports and entertainment media company in China. Catering to a vast audience of young and upwardly mobile consumers, XSEL is well-positioned in China with its unique content and access. Through its key international partnerships, XSEL is able to offer its target audience the content they demand -premium sports and quality entertainment. Through its Chinese partnerships, XSEL is able to deliver this content across a broad range of platforms, including television, the Internet, mobile phones and other multimedia assets in China. Along with its integrated advertising resources, XSEL offers a total solution empowering clients at every stage of the media process linking advertisers with China's young and upwardly mobile demographic.
Headquartered in Beijing, the company employs more than 1,200 people and has offices and affiliates in major cities throughout China including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Xinhua Sports & Entertainment Limited shares are listed on the NASDAQ Global Market (Nasdaq: XSEL). For more information, please visit www.xsel.com
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," ''confident'' and similar statements. Among other things, any quotations from management in this announcement contain forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about XSEL's beliefs and expectations are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks outlined in XSEL's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 20-F. All information provided in this press release is as of the date hereof, and XSEL undertakes no duty to update such information
About The Ultimate Fighting Championship(R)
UFC is the largest live pay-per-view provider in the world and the fastest growing main stream sports organization in history. Owned and operated by Zuffa(TM), LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., UFC(R) produces over twelve live pay-per-view events annually that are distributed residentially through North American cable and satellite providers including iNDEMAND Networks, DIRECTV, DISH Network, Avail-TVN Entertainment, BellTV, SaskTel Max(TM), Shaw Pay-Per-View, and Viewers Choice. International distributors include WOWOW in Japan, Premiere Combate and SporTV in Brazil, with worldwide distribution via the Internet on Yahoo.Sports. UFC content is distributed commercially through Joe Hand Promotions in the U.S. and Canadastar in Canada. In addition to its North American distribution, UFC programming is distributed in over 100 countries and territories throughout the world.
Ultimate Fighting Championship(R), Ultimate Fighting(R), UFC(R), The Ultimate Fighter(R), Submission(R), As Real As It Gets(R), Zuffa(R), The Octagon(TM) and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks, registered service marks, trademarks, trade dress and/or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC and licensed to its affiliated entities and other licensees in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC, its affiliates or other respective owners.
