(1888PressRelease)
July 08, 2006 - SAN FRANCISCO & BARCELONA, Spain – HandHeld Entertainmentä (OTC BB: HNDH), the maker of the ZVUE™ family of mass-market portable media players, today announced that it has obtained the rights to highlights of the exciting soccer finals match of the 2006 Champions League Cup Final which saw FC Barcelona land a thrilling 2-1 victory over Arsenal in the Stade de France in Paris, France.
Permanent English and Spanish language videos of the match highlights are available for immediate purchase and download at http://www.zvue.com/downloads/champions-league-cup-final for $2.99 (US) and are provided to HandHeld Entertainment through an agreement with FC Barcelona and IMG Media, a division of international sports, entertainment and media giant IMG. In addition, soccer fans can also purchase a $0.99 Spanish or English language “day pass” version of the match highlights from www.zvue.com with a 24-hour viewing window.
Customers who purchase a 2006 Champions League Cup Final match highlights video from HandHeld Entertainment will be able to watch the highlights on any personal computer using Microsoft’s Windows Media Video or on HandHeld Entertainment’s ZVUE portable media player.
“Even for a casual fan, this is a very exciting match to watch, and for the more than one billion true soccer fans around the globe, I’m sure they’ll love it,” said Jeff Oscodar, president and chief executive officer of HandHeld Entertainment. “I am committed to ensuring that HandHeld Entertainment continues to build and deliver the broadest, most entertaining and most relevant library of video content for portable media players in the world.”
Industry reports suggest that more than one billion individuals around the world watched all or part of the last World Cup soccer competition which was held in 2004. By all estimates, soccer (or football as it is known outside of the United States of America) is the most popular sport in the world, both by the number of participants and by the number of fans.
HandHeld Entertainment and IMG Media announced their first agreement in mid-May, an agreement that allows HandHeld Entertainment customers to purchase downloadable videos of three of IMG Media’s fashion weeks: Mercedes Australian Fashion Week (MAFW), www.afw.com.au; Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios, 2006, www.mercedesbenzfashionweek.com; and Olympus Fashion Week, www.olympusfashionweek.com.
“HandHeld Entertainment understands the portable video player market very well and they’re a great team player,” said Bill Squadron, Senior Vice President of IMG Media. “We continue to look forward to working with HandHeld Entertainment on this and other projects in the future.”
Match Highlights
In spite being down one player due to a 19th minute red card ejection of goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, Arsenal fought valiantly to take a 1-0 lead in the 37th minute with a header from Sol Campbell, a lead Arsenal took into halftime.
It was more than 30 minutes later before FC Barcelona could forge a tie at 1-1 in the 76th minute, the leveling score coming from an angled shot by Samuel Etoó from inside the box, a goal which followed a deft pass from Henrik Larsson. Less than five minutes later, FC Barcelona took the lead for good when Juliano Belletti scored the winner on an excellent reverse pass from Larsson, giving him a key role in both FC Barcelona goals as a fitting way for the Swede to end his career at the club.
The victory gave FC Barcelona its second European Cup win ever, its first coming in 1992 in a 1-0 victory over Sampdoria at Wembley Stadium in England.
“It was a stunning win for FC Barcelona in a match played in terrible, rain-soaked conditions,” Oscodar said. “The win caps a remarkable season for FC Barcelona and cements its position as the pre-eminent club in Europe this season. Whether a fan watches the match on one of our ZVUE portable video players or on a personal computer, I think they’ll see it as a finals truly worthy of the 50-year anniversary of the European Cup that it was.”
About the ZVUE
Available today in approximately 1,800 Wal-Mart stores around the United States, as well as on the Internet, the $99 (US) ZVUE plays videos and MP3 files available from the ZVUE.com download store and also lets users view digital pictures from a digital camera or home video from a camcorder. The ZVUE offers full-color video and clear audio sound that gives users a robust, on-the-go digital experience when coupled with downloadable content from the ZVUE Web site.
About IMG
IMG is the world’s premier Sports, Entertainment and Media Company. IMG is a diversified global business with two major business segments: IMG Sports & Entertainment, and IMG Media. IMG employs over 2,300 people in 30 countries. Forstmann Little & Co. purchased IMG in 2004.
IMG Sports & Entertainment includes: consulting services; event ownership and management; fashion events and models representation; licensing; golf course design; client representation in golf, tennis, baseball, broadcasting, hockey, football, European football, rugby, cricket, motorsports, coaching, Olympic sports and action sports. In addition, IMG Academies are the world’s largest and most advanced, state-of-the-art, multi-sport training and educational facility, delivering world-class sports training experiences to over 12,000 junior, collegiate, adult and professional athletes each year.
IMG Media, which includes our content production subsidiaries TWI and Darlow Smithson Productions, is recognized as a global leader in the delivery of traditional and new media content and services, with Internet, broadband and mobile expertise, transforming how audiences access and interact with content. IMG Media produces and distributes over 9,000 hours of sports, documentary, docu-drama, entertainment, and popular factual content annually, over multiple platforms across 200 countries, including award-winning television and radio programming. It also represents the broadcast rights to many of the world’s premier sporting events and has the world’s biggest sports archive with more than 200,000 hours of footage.
More information about IMG is available at www.imgworld.com and www.darlowsmithson.com
About HandHeld Entertainment, Inc.
HandHeld Entertainment is a digital-media-to-go company with a family of mass-market portable media players priced at mass-market prices as well as its own online video content store. Its ZVUE portable media players are available for purchase online and in approximately 1,800 retail locations across the United States, while portable video lovers can visit ZTV (HandHeld Entertainment’s video content store at www.zvue.com) to buy pay-per-download videos or download thousands of free media titles. For more information, visit www.hheld.com or call 415-495-6470.
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