[March 15, 2012]

ConnecTV Rolls Out Suite of Innovative "Second Screen" Features for March Madness

ConnecTV, the most comprehensive social TV experience, today announced its March Madness line-up of innovative content features for the biggest month in sports television - including a custom Final Four "blind pool" multi-player game, deep real-time play-by-play sports statistics, a "time-out" detector to fill action lulls with compelling information, a "go back" function to see previous plays, along with seamless social integration that lets "view-sers " share the greatest game moments with friends across the social-sphere. The free ConnecTV app for iPad is available from the Apple App Store or directly from ConnecTV.com for Macs and PCs.

From Selection Sunday to the Final Four, ConnecTV instantly lets fans access the deepest cache of news and information about the nationwide college competition to create the most engaging second-screen experience imaginable. ConnecTV's new content features include at-a-glance player bios, real-time team and player stats for that game as well as the entire season. In addition to second-by-second court action that tracks and enhances all the action on your TV screen, ConnecTV uses a first-ever "timeout detector" that packs dull lags in the action with tons of compelling information, including game scores from around the league and NCAA news and highlights. And a special "go back" feature lets you flick back in time to see information about previous top plays in the game with all the related statistics - and then tap the "LIVE" button to return to ConnecTV coverage synced with the real-time action on TV.

For the first time, NCAA fans can also play along with ConnecTV's unique new "Blind Pool," a multi-player game designed for the Final Four. The pool features a 10x10 grid in which users are randomly assigned five squares on a grid filled with "Magic Numbers." Users earn points for having the "Magic Number" that corresponds with the first digit of the score at each given period. After each game, points will be totaled based on users with the most "Magic Numbers."

"ConnecTV is a lightning rod for March Madness fans that offers an unparalleled second screen sports experience to energize the final TV match-ups in NCAA basketball," said Ian Aaron, ConnecTV Co-Founder. "With our notable partners, like STATS (News - Alert), and comprehensive platform capabilities viewsers can watch, talk smack with friends and classmates, and share the most exciting Madness Moments."

"ConnecTV has transformed our real-time statistics into a fantastic second screen user interface, allowing viewers to get fanatically social about the numbers, the players and their teams," said Greg Kirkorsky, SVP of Sales at STATS, which provides ConnecTV with instant data on 55,000 sporting events around the world. "ConnecTV is a whole new way to turn stats into fan chatter and a more compelling March Madness experience."

Finally, ConnecTV is hosting an NCAA Championship Viewing Party in partnership with the Social TV Summit. The ConnecTV special NCAA Championship event is taking place at the Elephant and Castle Pub and Restaurant in San Francisco on April 2 from 6 - 9 p.m. The first 150 registered attendees for the Social TV Summit receive tickets to the "BYOI" (Bring Your Own iPad) event where they can play along with the Championship game on their iPads while enjoying cocktails, dinner, interactive and social TV games and prizes. One lucky attendee at the viewing party will win a ConnecTV branded iPad 3, which will be awarded at the Social TV Summit on April 3.

ConnecTV's March Madness coverage for the second screen paves the way for even more new features and enhancements for sports fans including NBA Finals, the Stanley Cup Tournament, Major League Baseball's 2012 season, the Masters, the Olympics, NASCAR and more.

ConnecTV offers second screen coverage of local sports events in the top 26 markets nationwide by auto-syncing to leading regional sports networks. ConnecTV also offers a "companion" experience with more than 250 national networks and will soon work with more than 200 local stations to create a broad-based platform for sports fans to enjoy their favorite games-whether it's on CBS, TNT, ESPN (News - Alert) or broadcast locally AND nationally. ConnecTV supports iPad and browser based devices such as Macs and PCs, while access for Android tablets and Smart Phones will be available in the near future. For a continually updated list of participating networks and local affiliates as well as supported second screen devices, or to download the app, please visit www.ConnecTV.com.

About ConnecTV

ConnecTV is the biggest social network designed specifically for TV fans - a "second screen" companion entertainment experience that complements the video programming delivered from Cable, Satellite, Over-the-Air or On-Line Service providers. ConnecTV is accessible on iOS or browser-based devices. It is coming soon on Android (News - Alert) tablets and smart phones. ConnecTV automatically connects television viewers while they watch their favorite programs and synchronizes engaging second screen content, including latest news, celebrity information, trivia, polls and play-by-play sports stats. ConnecTV subscribers can see what TV shows their friends are watching, invite them to a "viewing party" and start a real-time conversation. ConnecTV also makes it easy to share viewers' favorite TV moments using Facebook (News - Alert), Twitter and email. ConnecTV has partnered with 10 leading broadcast groups, including Barrington Broadcasting Group, Belo Corp., Cox Media Group, E.W. Scripps Co., Gannett Broadcasting, Hearst Television Inc., Media General Inc., Meredith Corp., Post-Newsweek Stations Inc. and Raycom (News - Alert) Media. Collectively, the broadcasters have a reach of 76 million U.S. households and represents ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, The CW and MyNetworkTV affiliates in 45 of the nation's top 50 television markets. Several of those broadcasters have made an undisclosed investment in ConnecTV. ConnecTV was founded by pioneering executives at the intersection of media, entertainment and technology: Ian Aaron, Alan Moskowitz and Stacy Jolna.

About STATS LLC

STATS is the world's leading sports technology, data and content company. The company passionately abides by a mission to revolutionize the way sports contests are viewed, understood and enjoyed. STATS' calling card consists of real-time scores, historical sports information, Associated Press editorial content, a turnkey fantasy sports operation and SportVU technology. Today, STATS' worldwide client network of media companies and professional sports leagues and teams utilize a broad spectrum of dynamic in-game broadcast presentations and virtual images, multimedia enhancements and game analysis and tactical coaching tools. STATS is owned jointly by the Associated Press and News Corporation, with corporate offices across the globe. For a complete tour of STATS' sports content portfolio and solutions, visit www.stats.com.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50204849&lang=en

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]