Versus Network to televise the "T-mobile Invitational" tournament featuring top high school basketball teams.
Live TV coverage on December 27 and 28
STAMFORD, Conn., Dec. 07, 2006 — VERSUS, a network that celebrates real competition in all its forms, has secured the exclusive television rights for the inaugural T-Mobile Invitational high school basketball tournament, created by T-Mobile USA, Inc. and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). VERSUS will televise all eight tournament games live on Dec. 27 and 28 from the University of Washington's Bank of America Arena in Seattle, Wash.
"The T-Mobile Invitational gives us an opportunity to showcase some of the best, most dedicated high school athletes in the country on a national stage," said Victoria Quoss, Vice President of Programming, International and Strategic Planning for VERSUS. "These are disciplined high school students who manage to balance the demands of their work load with the demands of their training. They're an inspiring group of competitive athletes and we're looking forward to bringing all of the tournament action to our viewers."
Mike Belcher, director of Sponsorships and Promotions, T-Mobile USA said, "The T-Mobile Invitational is a great opportunity to promote the positive impact of participating in high school sports and activities. With the live coverage of the games on VERSUS, fans across the nation are able to share in the excitement and see the positive impact firsthand."
The T-Mobile Invitational high school basketball tournament is the first-ever national sports competition sponsored by the NFHS. The tournament will bring together eight of the top high school teams determined, in part, through USA TODAY's "Super 25" high school basketball rankings. The eight-team tournament, with four boys' and four girls' teams, is comprised only of schools from NFHS-member associations. Each school competing in the tournament will play two games.
"We are pleased that all eight games of the tournament will be telecast live on VERSUS because we will be able to share the values and mission of high school activity programs with people around the country," said Robert F. Kanaby, NFHS executive director. "This is tremendous opportunity that has been afforded us through our partnership with T-Mobile USA and we look forward to delivering positive messages about high school sports and fine arts during this event."
Dec. 27 First Round of T-Mobile Invitational
Girls:
4:00 p.m. Winter Haven (Winter Haven, Fla.) vs. Collins Hill (Suwanee, Ga.)
7:00 p.m. Issaquah (Issaquah, Wash.) vs. St. Elizabeth (Wilmington, Del.)
Boys:
5:30 p.m. Solon (Solon, Ohio) vs. LeFlore (Mobile, Ala.)
8:30 p.m. O'Dea (Seattle, Wash.) vs. Fairfax (Los Angeles, CA)
Dec. 28 T-Mobile Invitational Finals
4:00 p.m. Girls' Consolation Game
5:30 p.m. Boys' Consolation Game
7:00 p.m Girls' Final Game, Winners from First Round Game
8:45 p.m. Boys' Final Game, Winners from First Round Game
All times are listed for Eastern Standard Time and subject to change. The games will also be shown live in the Pacific and Mountain regions as well. For more information about the T-Mobile Invitational tournament go to http://www.t-mobileinvitational.com/ and for the latest tournament broadcast schedule log onto www.VERSUS.com.
About VERSUS
VERSUS (VERSUS.com) celebrates real competition in all its forms. The network is the national cable home of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Stanley Cup Playoffs as well as best-in-class events like The Tour de France, the America's Cup, the Dakar Rally, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR), Professional Boxing, the Boston Marathon, AMA Motocross and Davis Cup. Now in more than 70 million homes, the network features the best field sports programming on television and is a destination for sports fans, athletes and sportsmen to find exclusive, competitive events that audiences can't find elsewhere. The network offers unique, competition-themed original programming and is the exclusive home of Survivor in syndication. VERSUS, a wholly owned company of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA, CMCSK), is distributed via cable systems and satellite operators throughout the United States.
About T-Mobile USA
Based in Bellevue, Wash., T-Mobile USA, Inc. is a member of the T-Mobile International group, one of the world's leading companies in mobile communications, and the mobile telecommunications subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT). At the end of September 2006, more than 91 million mobile customers were served by companies of the Deutsche Telekom group — 24.1 million by T-Mobile USA — all via a common technology platform based on GSM, the world's most successful digital wireless standard. T-Mobile's innovative wireless products and services help empower people to connect effortlessly to those who matter most. Multiple independent research studies continue to rank T-Mobile highest, in numerous regions throughout the U.S., in wireless call quality and wireless customer care. For more information, please visit the company's Web site at www.t-mobile.com.
About the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)
The NFHS, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the national leadership organization for high school sports and fine arts activities. Since 1920, the NFHS has led the development of education-based interscholastic sports and fine arts activities that help students succeed in their lives. The NFHS sets direction for the future by building awareness and support, improving the participation experience, establishing consistent standards and rules for competition, and helping those who oversee high school sports and activities. The NFHS writes playing rules for 17 sports for boys and girls at the high school level. Through its 50 member state associations and the District of Columbia, the NFHS reaches more than 18,500 high schools and 11 million participants in high school activity programs, including more than 7 million in high school sports. As the recognized national authority on interscholastic activity programs, the NFHS conducts national meetings; sanctions interstate events; produces publications for high school coaches, officials and athletic directors; sponsors professional organizations for high school coaches, officials, spirit coaches, speech and debate coaches and music adjudicators; and serves as a national information resource of interscholastic athletics and activities.the NFHS Web site at www.nfhs.org.
MEDIA CONTACT: Amy Phillips, VERSUS, 203-406-2509
aphillips@versus.com
To obtain media credentials for the T-Mobile Invitational, please contact:
Marc Feuerstein, Wasserman Media Group, 212-704-0488 x. 212
mfeuerstein@wmgllc.com
