-- Additional
Participating Partners Include adidas, Spalding and T-Mobile
--
NEW
YORK, June 30, 2008
– The National Basketball Association (NBA)
and EA SPORTS today announced that EA SPORTS will be the presenting partner of
the 2008 NBA Summer League, the league’s summer showcase in Las Vegas for top free
agents and members of the 2008 Draft class.
As the presenting partner EA SPORTS will
have a prominent in arena presence during all Summer League games and will
receive advertising inventory in Summer League broadcasts on NBA TV and live
webcasts on NBA.com. EA SPORTS will also welcome members of the media to
Las Vegas by
hosting a dinner at the Hardwood Suite at Palms Casino Resort where EA SPORTS is
expected to make a major product announcement.
Additional partners of the 2008 NBA Summer
League include adidas, Spalding, and T-Mobile USA. Each partner will conduct a
variety of NBA-themed promotions surrounding the event and will have a strong
branding presence in arena and in NBA Summer League media.
“The NBA Summer League presented by EA
SPORTS is an annual right of passage where a new crop of talented players will
take the court in search of securing a spot on an NBA team,” said Mark Tatum,
NBA Senior Vice President of Marketing Partnerships. “As a long time partner of
the NBA, EA SPORTS continues to expand their relationship with the league.
Along with all of the event’s partners this year, the Summer League showcase
will once again be a success for players and fans."
“NBA LIVE allows fans to
extend the NBA season to 365 days a year,” said Jordan Edelstein, Director of
Marketing, EA SPORTS. “We are fortunate to be a part of the NBA Summer League
which achieves a similar goal of enabling fans to follow players from their
favorite teams all year long.”
A total of 21 teams will compete in this
year’s event in the desert and will feature 12 teams that appeared in this
year’s NBA Playoffs, including the 2008 Western Conference Champion Los Angeles
Lakers. From July 11 – 20, a 53-game schedule will be played at the Thomas &
Mack Center and the COX Pavilion on the campus of the
University of
Nevada Las Vegas.
Recent participants in NBA Summer League
presented by EA SPORTS include the last three NBA Rookie of the Year winners,
Seattle’s Kevin Durant (2008), Brandon Roy of the
Portland Trailblazers (2007) and New
Orleans’ Chris Paul (2006).
The NBA LIVE video game franchise, is
recognized worldwide for delivering the most authentic interactive basketball
experience for more than a decade. The newest iteration in the series, NBA LIVE 09, is scheduled to be available
in North America on October 7, and worldwide on
October 14.
About the NBA
The NBA, founded in 1946, is a global sports and
entertainment brand that features 30 teams in the United States and Canada.
During the 2007-08 season, the NBA will distribute games and programming to 215
countries and territories in 41 languages. The league’s worldwide reach can also
be seen with 76 international players from 31 countries and territories on NBA
rosters.
NBA Cares is the league's social responsibility
initiative that builds on the NBA's long tradition of addressing important
social issues in the United
States and around the world. Through this
umbrella program, the NBA, its teams and players have committed to donating $100
million to charity, providing a million hours of hands-on service to the
community, and creating 250 places where kids and families can live, learn or
play. NBA Cares works with internationally recognized youth-serving programs
that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes,
including: UNICEF; the Make-A-Wish Foundation; and the Global Business Coalition
on HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis.
About Electronic
Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive
entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops,
publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game
systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts
markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTSTM,
EATM, EA SPORTS Freestyle TM and POGOTM. In
fiscal 2008, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.67 billion and had 27 titles that
sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More
information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on
the Internet at http://info.ea.com
