OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (Sprint) -Sprint (NYSE:S): Can you see
Bon Jovi live from Washington DC exclusively on a Sprint phone? Yes you can.
No tickets to an upcoming sold-out Bon Jovi concert? No problem. Thanks to Sprint (NYSE: S), Bon Jovi fans across the country can watch live video of the band's Dec. 17 show, free of additional charge, via Sprint TV multimedia devices and for Sprint MobiTV subscribers. (Normal Sprint PCS Vision data access charges will apply.) This unprecedented broadcast, made available exclusively by Sprint for its customers, is the result of the company's title sponsorship of Bon Jovi's "Have a Nice Day" United States' tour, continuing through March 2006.
Using Sprint's Emmy Award-winning Sprint PCS Multimedia Services, powered by MobiTV, the live video will commence at approximately 8:30pm EST on Sat., Dec. 17, when Bon Jovi takes the stage at the MCI Center in Washington DC. The band's entire performance, including encores, will be shown on Sprint TV Channel 33 in the Music Video category. Sprint customers will enjoy the full concert from the best seat in the house: anywhere they can use their wireless phone.
"Sprint's sponsorship of Bon Jovi's 'Have a Nice Day' tour has allowed us to bring compelling wireless content to our customers and Bon Jovi fans nationwide," said Laurie Thompson, director of entertainment marketing for Sprint. "In fact, this unprecedented broadcast by Sprint demonstrates that our vision of a 'third screen' is a reality, and Bon Jovi fans will be among the first to realize what this will mean for the future of entertainment."
Paul Korzilius, Bon Jovi's manager, sees the band's first full-concert wireless broadcast as the perfect progression of the band's interaction with their fans. "The relationship with Sprint not only puts our music in the palm of fans' hands through full-track music downloads and ringers, but now gives them an exclusive opportunity to experience a live Bon Jovi concert, for the first time ever, on a wireless phone. And because this is a sold-out tour, that's the next best thing to having a physical ticket."
"Third Screen" a reality
Today's announcement with Bon Jovi reinforces Sprint's position that rich, high-value content will entice more consumers to use their wireless devices as a "third screen" for entertainment, news and information. After the television and the computer, mobile devices represent the newest alternative for news and entertainment delivery.
"Streaming the Bon Jovi concert live to our customers represents another milestone in the development of consumer wireless data services and continues Sprint's legacy of innovation," said Leslie Stafford, general manager of streaming music for Sprint. "Sprint was the first to offer live TV and streaming music over a mobile phone and is now the first to offer an exclusive, full-length rock concert to a mobile phone."
Sprint and MobiTV were the first to launch TV services to the mobile phone and recently expanded their relationship to continue offering TV content that will be available on both the Sprint Nationwide PCS Network and the Sprint Power Vision Network, signifying MobiTV's first domestic deployment of live television on an EVDO network. The two companies each won The Emmy Engineering Award for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Development from The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, marking the first time the wireless industry has achieved such unique and high-profile recognition from the entertainment industry.
Sprint Music Store
In addition to today's announcement, Bon Jovi fans carrying Power Vision phones from Sprint can download exclusive content and full digital tracks from the band's new album via the Sprint Music Store. The Sprint Music Store is the first service in the United States that allows wireless customers to purchase and download full-length songs over the air to enjoy on their phones or PCs. Customers can browse, preview, purchase and listen to hundreds of thousands of full-length songs in stereo sound from virtually every genre from all major music labels while on the go, right from their Sprint Power Vision Phones. Customers receive two copies of the song - one formatted for their phones and another for their PCs - and can organize their music and create playlists on the phones.
Powerful device lineup
Some of the multimedia devices capable of playing the live Bon Jovi concert include Sprint Power Vision devices like the MM-A920 from Samsung and the MM-9000 from Sanyo. Sprint PCS Vision devices with built-in media players, such as the MM-A800 from Samsung and the MM-5600 by Sanyo, also are compatible with the live concert stream; and any Sprint customer who subscribes to MobiTV will have access to the concert.
