Network Provides “TV-Bustin’ Quality” Viewing Experience On www.fuel.tv
LOS ANGELES, CA – FUEL TV, the only network dedicated to the lifestyle of action sports, is partnering with Action Sports Group (ASG) to offer an enhanced live webcast from the final days of the 2009 6.0 Lowers Pro. Starting May 1, 2009, FUEL TV will webcast the final two days of competition of the 6.0 Lowers Pro. Nike 6.0 is the title sponsor of the contest.
The webcast will be available at www.fuel.tv/lowerspro in “TV-Bustin’ Quality,” which rivals broadcast television quality. The entire contest, including the early rounds and the Oakley Pro Junior, the U.S. qualifier for the Oakley Pro Junior Global Challenge, will also be available through a webcast at www.nike6lowerspro.com.
“FUEL TV is excited to bring a TV-like viewing experience of the 6.0 Lowers Pro to the web,” says Gene Pao, Vice President of New Media and International Development for FUEL TV. “By employing the high quality video delivery technologies from Move Networks, FUEL TV continues to bring the best of action sports to its viewers. In the near future, we expect to bring surfing events in full HD, and the 6.0 Lowers Pro brings us one step closer to making that a reality.”
FUEL TV has already successfully executed several action sports webcasts, most recently the Rip Curl Pro from Bells Beach. In addition, FUEL TV produced the first full HD webcast of a skateboarding contest in March, with the webcast of the prestigious Tampa Pro. In all cases, FUEL TV has utilized video technology from Move Networks that provides video delivery rates up to 2.4 Mbps, more than three times the encoding rate of traditional technologies.
“We are excited to broaden our partnership with FUEL TV in an effort to enhance the user experience,” says Sean Nielsen, ASG Director of Event Operations. “Not only can FUEL TV deliver a higher quality stream than traditional webcasts, but it can also expand the audience for the contest through the reach of its on-air and online marketing capabilities.”
“Providing a high quality viewing experience in action sports can be particularly challenging,” says John Edwards, Executive Chairman of the Board for Move Networks. “FUEL TV and Move Networks have collaborated closely to address the challenges of delivering a high quality action sports webcast, from production to encoding and delivery. Our work with FUEL TV and Fox Digital Media has allowed FUEL TV take a leadership position in the delivery of action sports broadcasts online.“
The 6.0 Lowers Pro takes place at Lower Trestles, San Clemente, California from Tuesday April 28 until Saturday, May 2, 2009. This year the contest is an Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS) 6-Star PRIME, making it the first WQS PRIME-rated event ever on Mainland U.S.A. The prestigious event is one of only a few 6-Stars on the ASP North America Tour and only eight 6-Star PRIMES around the world on the 2009 schedule. A field of 128 men will vie for a $145,000 prize purse, including $20,000 for first place, and the most WQS ratings points possible. With the increase in points, 17 surfers from the ASP World Tour have signed up to compete in this contest, including the likes of Dane Reynolds, Taylor Knox, Fredrick Patacchia, Chris Ward, Adriano de Souza, and CJ and Damien Hobgood.
Running concurrently, the ASP Grade-2 Oakley Pro Junior will see 48 juniors (20 years and younger) battling for a $10,000 prize purse and two coveted qualifying spots into the Oakley Pro Junior Global Challenge Finals. This will be the only U.S. qualifier for the prominent event, which gained notoriety last year due to its massive prize purse, professional format, and high caliber of qualifier location selections.
FUEL TV offers full-length episodes of its programming in HD Streaming on its web site. Viewers can watch HD versions of shows such as “New Pollution” and “Firsthand” using the same HD player as is used for the 2009 6.0 Lowers Pro webcast.
For more information about the 6.0 Lowers Pro, visit www.nike6lowerspro.com. For more about the Oakley Pro Junior, visit www.oakleyprojunior.com. And make sure to check out the FUEL TV webcast of the 6.0 Lowers Pro starting on Friday, May 1 and concluding on Saturday, May 2, 2009 at www.fuel.tv/lowerspro.
