Akamai and Turner Sports Look to Score With Live Online Coverage Throughout the NBA All-Star Festivities

CAMBRIDGE, MA .- Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the leading global service provider for accelerating content and applications online, will serve as the exclusive provider for Turner Sports’ live and on-demand Internet coverage of the National Basketball Association’s All-Star Weekend events and games. Akamai will support Turner’s live and video on demand streams, as well as the increased interactive Website features enabling fan participation, running through Sunday, February 17 in New Orleans. The Website content will be featured on the network’s broadband channel, TNT OverTime All-Star Access on NBA.com and will serve as a compliment to the exclusive television coverage available on TNT.

The Adobe Flash® video format is growing in popularity as a way to incorporate rich, interactive content and enhance online experiences, resulting in visitor retention and increased brand awareness. The strength of the Akamai platform enables it to deliver live video experiences in the Adobe FLV video format instantly and with unrivaled quality, without buffer times, equaling a high-quality online experience to meet the high standards required of the Turner brand. In the last year, Akamai has delivered more Live streaming for Flash than any other Content Delivery Network.

“We all know that sports fans are eager to interact online during major sporting events like the All-Star Weekend festivities and we look forward to enhancing their experience this year,” said Lenny Daniels, senior vice president of new media and production, Turner Sports. “Not only are fans going to be able to watch the action on television as well as online, but they can also interact with other viewers and control their own viewing experience. This is the first time we are offering so many live and interactive Internet features and we are confident Akamai’s network can handle the demands required by unknown amounts of concurrent users.”

“High quality video on the Internet has arrived and on a scale that requires a distribution platform only Akamai can provide. Akamai works closely with our customers to pioneer how live events can be watched, enjoyed and consumed online,” said Tim Napoleon, Chief Strategist, Media & Entertainment at Akamai. “We’re truly at a turning point where geographic and economic boundaries are no longer a factor in global audiences being able to watch and participate in events around the world. As content owners explore and experiment with new distribution channels, live broadband video is a viable alternative to expand their distribution and more directly control their revenue. We are looking forward to the day when broadcast-sized audiences will see live, online programming as commonplace. The Internet continues to revolutionize our lives and Akamai is proud to support our customers as they reach these milestones.”

Starting today, visitors can access the TNT OverTime All-Star Access video player at NBA.com. The player allows users to access on demand clips and live streaming events during the week’s festivities. This Saturday night, fans will be able to log into the LIVE section of the video player and access five live video streams from the Three Point Shootout and Slam Dunk Contest, including:

* A mosaic view that allows users to access all camera feeds in a four-box view
* A studio show that will provide updates, highlights and respond to fans’ emails, texts and instant messages
* A ’robo cam’ feed that provides users access to a live camera attached to the backboard
* A stream from a camera strategically positioned underneath the scoreboard for live views of the action on the court
* A ’cable cam’ feed that zips up and down the arena for live, aerial views


On Sunday night during the NBA All-Star Game, fans will have their say on two of the feeds All-Star Access offers:

* The “Fans Choice Poll.” allowing fans to vote online for the players they want to watch on two separate feeds. It is the first time fans can control what they want to watch during the All Star Game.
* The studio show and robo cam will also be available, in addition to the mosaic view


Serving hundreds of gigabits per second of Flash traffic daily, Akamai is a Premier Authorized Adobe Flash Video Streaming Service (FVSS) provider. As the world’s largest and most reliable Content Delivery Network with the largest Flash streaming network, Akamai is uniquely qualified to deliver rich, engaging Adobe Flash content.