America Channel Enters Into Television Sports Broadcast and Video Content Development Agreements With Leading NCAA Division I Sports Conferences

America Channel Enters Into Television Sports Broadcast and Video Content Development Agreements With Leading NCAA Division I Sports Conferences

New Programming Initiative Includes Nationwide Multiplatform Video Sports Packages, and Partnerships to Generate Video Content from University Campuses Across the Nation

HEATHROW, Fla., Dec. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The America Channel announced today that it has entered into multi-year, comprehensive video broadcast agreements with a number of distinguished NCAA Division I conferences including Big South Conference, Southern Conference, Big West Conference, Colonial Athletic Association, Big Sky Conference, America East Conference, Patriot League, and Atlantic Sun Conference.

Under these agreements, The America Channel has secured video broadcast rights to more than 200 games and matches per year, including basketball, football, and Conference championships of men's and women's soccer, volleyball, softball, men's and women's tennis, track and field, lacrosse, field hockey and other sports. The agreements include games involving over 80 Universities in about 50 markets, including most of the top 20 television markets.

In addition to the sports broadcasts, The America Channel unveiled its new SportLife initiative. Specifically, The America Channel and the Conferences, their Student Athletic Advisory Committees (SAACs) and Universities, will cooperate to create video content about the aspirations, achievements, challenges, adventures, community service, and lifestyles of students and student athletes. The programming will be jointly developed and produced for The America Channel, and a substantial portion of the content will be created utilizing the talents of University students. The groundbreaking initiative will generate dynamic original content for The America Channel, from and about a highly desirable demographic. Target viewer demographics include young women and men, and teens approaching college age who are seeking athletic and academic role models. At least 50% of the sports programming and the jointly developed campus programming, will profile and showcase women students and women's athletics.

"We are extremely excited about this new sports broadcast relationship," said Tom Yeager, Commissioner of the Colonial Athletic Association. "In addition, working with our Colonial Academic Alliance, The America Channel will be an excellent platform for content about our students and students athletes who achieve extraordinary things."

The Conference agreements permit the acquisition by The America Channel of additional sports events. The America Channel's SportsLife (TM) initiative will merge life and sport, providing real-life drama about students and student athletes who aspire, achieve, overcome, help others, and have fun.

"We're honored to have such a depth of cooperation with these leading Conferences," commented America Channel CEO Doron Gorshein. "The initiative is unique with extraordinary creative potential. We expect that viewers and advertisers will embrace it. We also believe that young people will be enriched by the programming about the aspirations, challenges and achievements of students and student athletes. We're proud to be working with the Conferences on this initiative which combines compelling and cutting edge content with positive social purpose."

"Our relationship with The America Channel represents a tremendous opportunity to showcase Big South Conference student-athletes," said Kyle Kallander, Commissioner of the Big South Conference. "There are hundreds of compelling stories about the challenges, successes and adventures of the student-athletes and their teams, and we are excited that The America Channel is partnering with the Big South to tell them. This is also a wonderful way to provide exposure to student-athletes and sports in a highly differentiated way."

"We are pleased to be entering into a relationship with the America Channel. The association will provide the Southern Conference, its schools and student-athletes exposure on a national level," said Southern Conference commissioner John Iamarino. "The America Channel will provide viewers with a unique perspective that will underscore the aspirations, goals and hopes of student-athletes. It is a unique concept and we are excited to be able to share our story to television viewers throughout the country."

"Our students undertake extraordinary personal challenges, lead by example, and achieve great things," said Doug Fullerton, Commissioner of the Big Sky Conference. "The combination of sports and dynamic non-fiction storytelling makes The America Channel a wonderful television partner for a national and international audience. We look forward to an active role in helping to make this important initiative a success."

"The objectives and demographics of this new initiative are unique among networks, and will serve our Conference well," stated Dennis Farrell, Commissioner of the Big West Conference. "We believe this partnership will generate some extremely unique and powerful television content."

"We are very excited about the agreement between The America Channel and America East to provide national exposure for basketball and other sports," said Patrick Nero, Commissioner of America East. "The increase in TV exposure will help showcase the high level of play in the conference. In addition, the content partnership with The America Channel will provide the viewing audience with a more authentic perspective on students and student-athletes."

"The America Channel provides access to a great new level of television broadcasting, but more importantly it is committed to sharing the news about how much good is embedded in college sports," said Bill Bibb, Commissioner of the Atlantic Sun Conference. "Our student-athletes achieve on and off the playing floor, and many of them do so in a very compelling manner. We are excited about the chance to share their accomplishments, and to be a part of The America Channel as it tells the authentic stories about our country's leaders in the making."

"We are excited about the increased visibility that this partnership will generate for the Patriot League and its institutions," commented Carolyn Schlie Femovich, Executive Director of the Patriot League. "In addition, The America Channel will provide the viewing audience with a real-life perspective on the students and student-athletes of the Patriot League and its mission toward balancing excellence in academics and athletics."

Broadcasts of the games will commence in early November of 2007. The network will launch in advance of that date.

About The America Channel

The America Channel(R) is a new programming network that will explore and celebrate our communities, campuses, real heroes, and ordinary people who accomplish the extraordinary. The America Channel's SportsLife (TM) initiative merges life and sport - combining broadcast of over 200 NCAA Division I sports games and matches, with real-life drama about the aspirations, achievements, challenges, adventures, community service, and lifestyles of students and student athletes. For more information please visit www.americachannel.us.

About the Big South Conference

The Big South, a NCAA Division I Conference, is celebrating 23 years of excellence in academics and athletics. Comprised of nine member institutions throughout the Southeast, the Big South continues to be a national leader both on the field through its 18 championship sports and in the classrooms of its nationally accredited members. Birmingham-Southern College, Charleston Southern University, Coastal Carolina University, High Point University, Liberty University, Radford University, UNC Asheville, Virginia Military Institute and Winthrop University comprise the 23-year-old-League, which is based in Charlotte, N.C. Presbyterian College and Gardner-Webb University will join the Conference in 2008-09. The Big South is online at www.BigSouthSports.com.

About the Southern Conference

The Southern Conference, which began its 86th season of intercollegiate competition in 2006, is a national leader in emphasizing the development of the student-athlete and defining the league's role in helping to build lifelong leaders and role models. The Southern Conference is the nation's fifth-oldest NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association. Only the Big Ten (1896), the Missouri Valley (1907), the Pacific 10 (1915) and the Southwestern Athletic (1920) conferences are older in terms of origination. The Southern Conference has also excelled as the premier Division I-AA football conference since earning that classification in 1981. The Conference currently consists of 11 members in four states throughout the Southeast and sponsors 19 varsity sports and championships that produce participants for NCAA Division I Championships. Academic excellence has been a major part of the Southern Conference's tradition. League athletes have been recognized countless times on Verizon/CoSIDA Academic All-America and district teams. A total of 19 Rhodes-Scholarship winners have been selected from the conference. The Southern Conference office is located in the Beaumont Mill in Spartanburg, S.C. A textile mill that was in operation from 1880 until 1999, the Beaumont Mill was renovated in 2004 and today offers the SoCon a first class meeting area as well as a spacious library for storage of the conference's historical documents.

About the Big West Conference

In its 38th season of NCAA Division I competition, the Big West Conference recently captured its 17th national team championship when UC Santa Barbara captured the NCAA men's soccer championship earlier this month. Besides that championship, Big West representatives have won six NCAA titles in women's volleyball, two in baseball, one in softball, and one in men's basketball.

The eight members of the Big West Conference include California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; California State University, Fullerton; California State University, Northridge; Long Beach State University; University of California, Irvine; University of California, Riverside; University of California, Santa Barbara; and the University of the Pacific. The University of California, Davis will become a member of the conference on July 1, 2007.

About the Colonial Athletic Association

Headquartered in Richmond, Va., the CAA showcases the talents of student- athletes, coaches and administrators who stand out not only on the playing field, but also in the classroom. CAA schools have produced 16 national team champions in five different sports, 33 individual national champions, 12 national players of the year, 11 national coaches of the year, 12 Honda Award winners, 19 NCAA post-graduate scholars, five Rhodes Scholars and four Nobel Prize winning faculty.

The CAA conducts championships in 21 sports and will begin sponsorship of a football league in 2007. The conference is coming off one of the most successful seasons in its 21-year history, which included eight teams advancing to post-season play in men's and women's basketball.

The footprint of the CAA stretches from Boston to Atlanta and encompasses five of the nation's nine largest metropolitan areas. Current members include the University of Delaware, Drexel University, George Mason University, Georgia State University, Hofstra University, James Madison University, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Northeastern University, Old Dominion University, Towson University, Virginia Commonwealth University and the College of William & Mary.

About the Big Sky Conference

The Big Sky Conference was established in 1963, and expanded from eight to nine schools in July of 2006 with the addition of the University of Northern Colorado. The league's footprint spans across the western United States with institutions in Washington, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, California and Utah. The Big Sky is currently comprised of Eastern Washington University, Idaho State University, The University of Montana, Montana State University, Northern Arizona University, the University of Northern Colorado, Portland State University, Sacramento State, and Weber State University. The Big Sky sponsors championships in 14 sports, including men's and women's cross country, indoor track and field, basketball, tennis and outdoor track and field. In addition, there are also championships in football, women's volleyball and golf. For more information: www.bigskyconf.com.

About the America East Conference

Since its beginning as a men's basketball-only conference in 1979, America East has evolved into one of the most comprehensive NCAA Division I conferences with a commitment to broad-based, competitive athletics programs, complementing the academic integrity and missions of the member institutions. Each of the nine institutions - University at Albany, Binghamton University, Boston University, University of Hartford, University of Maine, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), University of New Hampshire, Stony Brook University, and University of Vermont - offers a unique blend of academic and athletic tradition. Progressive in its approach to its more than 3,500 student athletes, America East recognizes champions in each of its 22 sports. America East also conducts the most comprehensive academic recognition program for student-athletes. Nearly 1,700 student-athletes with grade-point averages of 3.0 or better were honored in 2004-05 alone. With a geographic footprint covering the Mid-Atlantic to Northeast regions of the United States, America East has a population base of more than 50 million people and nearly 30 million television homes. America East member institutions include more than 106,000 students on the nine campuses and boast nearly 1 million living alumni, including more than 300,000 in Metro New York, more than 250,000 in Great Boston and nearly 75,000 in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area.

About the Atlantic Sun Conference

Founded in 1978, the Atlantic Sun Conference has operated in the ever- changing landscape of intercollegiate athletics with a consistent commitment to its Constitutional Mission to "assist its member institutions in the maintenance of programs of intercollegiate athletics which are compatible with the highest standards of education and competitive sports." The importance of recognizing the proper balance between student and athlete is reflected in the A-Sun's student-athlete academic achievements, as over the past three years more than 50 percent of the conference's student-athletes earned all-academic honors. The A-Sun is a blend of the southeast's finest private and most dynamic state schools and covers some of the nation's top destination areas and media markets. Member institutions include Belmont (Nashville, Tenn.), Campbell (Buies Creek, N.C.), East Tennessee State (Johnson City, Tenn.), Gardner-Webb (Boiling Springs, N.C.), Jacksonville (Jacksonville, Fla.), Kennesaw State (Kennesaw, Ga.), Lipscomb (Nashville, Tenn.), Mercer (Macon, Ga.), U. North Florida (Jacksonville, Fla.), and Stetson (DeLand, Fla.), with Florida Gulf Coast (Fort Myers, Fla.) and USC Upstate (Spartanburg, S.C.) beginning conference competition in 2007-08. More on the Atlantic Sun, our 17 championships, and our member institutions is found at www.atlanticsun.org.

About the Patriot League

The Patriot League continually demonstrates that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing its high standards. The Patriot League's athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes that are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education. The Patriot League, which began as a successful football conference in 1986 and became an all-sport conference in 1990, includes American University, Bucknell University, Colgate University, College of the Holy Cross, Lafayette College, Lehigh University, U.S. Military Academy and U.S. Naval Academy as full members and two associate members (Fordham University and Georgetown University) in the sport of football. These institutions are among the oldest and most prestigious in the nation and their alumni have played leadership roles in the shaping of our country. In the most recent NCAA Graduation Rate Report of student-athletes, the Patriot League ranked first among NCAA Division I conferences.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: The America Channel

CONTACT: Doron Gorshein of The America Channel, +1-407-333-3031

Web site: http://www.americachannel.us/
http://www.atlanticsun.org/
http://www.bigskyconf.com/
http://www.bigsouthsports.com/

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