Monday, September 10, 2007

MACON, Ga. (Sept. 10, 2007) - The Atlantic Sun Conference and PlayON! Sports, a division of Turner Sports announced today that they will launch ASun.TV on Monday, Sept. 10. A new Web service, ASun.TV will webcast a minimum of 540 regular-season and championship games across a variety of A-Sun sports, including men's and women's basketball, soccer and volleyball, as well as baseball and softball throughout the 2007-08 academic year. The first scheduled event for the Buccaneers features the women's volleyball match-up against UNC Asheville on Wednesday, September 19 at 7:00pm ET.

ASun.TV events will be available for viewing both live and via on-demand replay to fans throughout the country that purchase a Single Event Pass ($5.99 per event), a monthly All-Event Pass ($9.99 per month), or an annual All-Event pass ($69.99 per year). Both the annual and monthly All-Event Passes allow unlimited access to games within their respective timeframes.

"The launch of ASun.TV signifies our commitment to providing greater access to online sports coverage, especially that of collegiate sports," said Phil Sharpe, SVP/GM of PlayON! Sports. "We are thrilled to stream more than 500 A-Sun events on ASun.TV throughout the academic year and give fans the opportunity to watch their favorite A-Sun match-ups anytime, anywhere."

"ASun.TV will have an immediate impact on the A-Sun for our teams and fans. The ability to bring high quality live video from our schools over the Internet is a fantastic way to broaden the exposure for our outstanding student-athletes," said A-Sun commissioner Ted Gumbart. "Our schools, our great partners at Turner Sports, and our marketing team at RMG have all joined in the effort to make this happen, and we are very proud to launch ASun.TV."

Marketing efforts for the service will be a joint effort between PlayON! Sports and the A-Sun through its marketing partner, Rights Marketing Group (RMG).

"ASun.TV will build upon the great tradition of the Atlantic Sun Conference, as an innovative tool in creating awareness," said John T. Zarzycki, president of RMG. "We are excited to be a part of the concept development, product strategy and implementation of ASun.TV."

The expanding portfolio of PlayON! Sports properties includes the Atlantic Sun Conference (A-Sun), the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the United Soccer Leagues (USL). PlayON! Sports is a division of Turner Sports which operates and manages new media businesses for sports properties, including NASCAR.com, PGATOUR.com, PGA.com.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is a 12-member league committed to Building Winners for Life, with a focus on academic and athletic integrity and a balance between the two for the student-athlete, and maintaining a high level of sportsmanship. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun encompasses six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun consists of some of the most dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Gardner-Webb University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.

Rights Marketing Group (RMG) is based in Atlanta, Georgia, leads the marketing efforts for the A-Sun. The partnership gives the A-Sun comprehensive professional management of its brand identity, corporate partner and media services programs.

Participating Schools First ASun.TV Events

A-Sun Women's Volleyball

Tuesday September 11 7:00 pm ET Georgia State at Mercer

Thursday, September 13 7:00 pm ET Washington at UNF

Friday, September 14 7:00pm ET Washington at Jacksonville

Wednesday, September 19 7:00pm ET UNC Asheville at ETSU

Friday, September 21 7:00pm ET Gardner-Webb at Florida Gulf Coast

Friday, September 28 6:00pm CT USC Upstate at Belmont

Friday, October 5 7:00pm ET Savannah State at Kennesaw State

A-Sun Women's Soccer

Friday, September 21 7:00pm CT Austin Peay at Lipscomb

Friday, September 28 7:00pm ET Jacksonville at USC Upstate