Sky Sports gives viewers the ultimate Ashes experience

Sky Sports has launched its first ever second-screen cricket experience giving users access to the same match analysis technology used by the Sky commentary team during live matches.

The new Ashes Event Centre – which launches today in the time for the Investec Ashes 2013 - allows Sky Sports viewers to watch live ball-by-ball coverage at home or on the move and relive all the key moments via the session’s timeline, accompanied by the same match statistics used in the commentary box.

The Ashes Event Centre also features an integrated Hawk-Eye app giving fans the ability to review every ball virtually via a host of Hawk-Eye analysis tools, as used on screen in Sky Sport’s live coverage.

David Gibbs, Director of Sky Sports Digital Media, commented: “The Ashes series is a key part of our biggest ever summer of live sport and we are giving Sky Sports customers the ultimate Ashes experience. The Ashes Event Centre is the UK’s most advanced second screen cricket app and allows Sky Sports subscribers to keep up with the defining moments of each and every Test Match. It’s the first time we’ve offered a dedicated second screen experience for our cricket coverage and it’s another example of our investment in the Sky Sports viewer’s experience.”

Former England captain and Sky Sports commentator, Nasser Hussain, said: “The Ashes is always such an incredible part of the cricket calendar and it’s a competition that creates such excitement across the nation. This new app will give all those fans that are unable to watch at home the chance to catch up with every moment, whether they are at work or on the move.”

2013 is going to be Sky Sports’ best year yet, with more sport than ever before. In addition to back-to-back Ashes, the unrivalled breadth of sport available this year includes every race from the Formula One season, Grand Slam tennis, golf Majors, the Heineken Cup and our biggest ever season of football. Starting in August, Sky Sports will offer more live Premier League matches than ever, with 116 live games across the season. On top of this Sky remains the home of the UEFA Champions League, Football League and La Liga.

The Ashes Event Centre is just one of a host of second screen experiences available to Sky Sports subscribers as part of the Sky Sports for iPad app. Others available, when the races or games are live, include F1® Race Control and the Premier League Match Centre, offering live coverage, up-to-date aggregated Twitter feed and game statistics. The app also covers the biggest sports stories of the day together with information on the latest fixtures, results and standings, access to all six Sky Sports channels live, Sky Sports News radio.

Other key features of the Ashes Event Centre include:

• Exclusive live ball-by-ball coverage of the Investec Ashes
• Live match statistics, as used in the Sky Sports commentary box
• A session by session timeline allowing the viewer to instantly see all the wickets, boundaries and other key moments in a day’s play
• Live player statistics, scorecards and text commentary
• Integrated social media feed allowing fans to interact and share their views on Twitter.

The Ashes Event Centre complements Sky’s most complete TV coverage ever for an Ashes Series which includes a dedicated channel takeover of Sky Sports 2 - Sky Sports Ashes HD – showing 63 days of action between 30 June and 31 August.

The Ashes app features in the Sky Sports for iPad which is available at no extra cost to all Sky TV customers who take Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2. Sky Sports for iPad is available to download for free from the App Store on iPad or at www.itunes.com/appstore. The Sky Sports for iPad App is also available to non-Sky customers on a standalone basis for £4.99 per month through In-App Purchase (excludes access to Sky Sports 1-4 and Sky Sports F1®). The Ashes companion will also be available for Sky Sports customers to enjoy online at SkySports.com.

For a demo of the Ashes Event Centre, please click here: http://corporate.sky.com/skyviews/sky_sports_hd/taking_our_cricket_coverage_to_the_next_level

-ENDS-