Sprint to Carry Live NFL Network Game Telecasts Live Full-Length NFL Game Telecasts Available Wirelessly Only From Sprint, Only on the Now Network™

Nov. 10, 2009-- Sprint (NYSE: S) today announced that it will be the only wireless carrier to offer live NFL Network game telecasts via its exclusive NFL Mobile Live application and on Sprint TV beginning Nov. 12 when NFL Network televises the first of its eight-game Thursday Night Football schedule. Both NFL Mobile Live and Sprint TV are available at no additional cost to Sprint data subscribers with a data plan.

The first televised game features the San Francisco 49ers hosting the Chicago Bears on NFL Network. NFL Network’s Thursday night telecasts will be available to Sprint subscribers including games on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 26) and special NFL Network games on Saturday, Dec. 19, and Christmas Day (Friday, Dec. 25).

“Sprint and the NFL continue to make it easy for fans to follow their favorite players and teams with NFL Mobile Live,” said Steve Gaffney, Sprint’s vice president, corporate marketing. “With the Now Network,Sprint delivers live game information, which now includes the live game telecasts of all of the NFL Network games. What makes NFL Mobile Live so compelling is our ability to deliver live information for fans to access as they live their lives, on their terms.”

One of Sprint’s most popular applications, NFL Mobile Live reached 1 million users more quickly than any other application in the company’s history during the 2008 season. Usage of NFL Mobile Live nearly tripled since the 2008 season, making it Sprint’s No. 2 most-popular sports and news app behind Sprint TV. Sprintsubscribers can download NFL Mobile Live by texting NFL to 7777 (standard text-messaging rates apply). More information is available at www.sprint.com/nfl or www.nfl.com/sprint.

“This really is remarkable technology,” said former NFL star and current TV analyst Cris Collinsworth. “With NFL Mobile Live from Sprint it’s like carrying a little television set around with you. It has become an NFL tool for me and I use it all the time to follow the league. I watch the game highlights, I get scoring updates live and I will watch the games. With my travel schedule there is no better resource for NFL information.”

NFL Mobile Live

Only from Sprint. Only on the Now Network^TM – America’s most dependable 3G network⁽¹⁾ – in addition to the eight live NFL Network Thursday Night Football game telecasts, fans get the instant gratification that NFL Mobile Live provides, including:

• live home and away radio broadcasts of every regular-season NFL game.
• a live telecast of NFL Network.
• a bevy of on-demand video highlights, including “Sprint Can’t-Miss Plays,” where fans can vote for their favorite of the top three plays each week of the season to be entered into the Sprint Can’t-Miss Plays sweepstakes and a chance to win one of 17 trips to Super Bowl XLIV.
• NFL Game Center featuring official real-time statistics and alerts from every NFL game.
• a “send to a friend” link, which allows customers to send “Can’t-Miss Plays” and other video highlights from their Sprint phone to other Sprint video-enabled phones.
• real-time text alerts when players or teams score, including video alerts.
• injury reports and breaking news with updates from ProFootballTalk.com.
• the latest team-specific information with blogs for all 32 NFL teams courtesy of SBNation.com.
• statistics and player bios.

The NFL Network games that will be available to Sprint subscribers are:

• Nov. 12, Chicago Bears at San Francisco 49ers
• Nov. 19, Miami Dolphins at Carolina Panthers
• Nov. 26, New York Giants at Denver Broncos
• Dec. 3, New York Jets at Buffalo Bills
• Dec. 10, Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns
• Dec. 17, Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars
• Dec. 19, Dallas Cowboys at New Orleans Saints
• Dec. 25, San Diego Chargers at Tennessee Titans

Additionally, Sprint is sponsoring the Sprint Halftime Show for all eight of the NFL Network game broadcasts. Sprint will receive promos airing during the first half of each game, on-set branding during the halftime show along with commercials, and promos to air throughout the week leading up to the game.Sprint is also co-sponsoring the live stream of the NFL Network games online at NFL.com/LIVE. Sprint will have a consistent presence across the eight NFL Network games – via the television broadcast, online and via mobile distribution.

NFL Mobile Live is available on most Sprint handsets and is included at no additional charge with Sprint Everything plans with data starting at $69.99. It’s also included with the Simply Everything^TM plan, which combines unlimited nationwide voice, messaging and extensive data services for just $99.99 per month (monthly prices exclude Sprint surcharges and taxes). With other Sprint plans customers can get NFL Mobile Live by adding a Data Pack, starting at $15 per month.

Fans can find information on how to access NFL Mobile Live and a get a complete list of NFL Mobile Live compatible devices at www.sprint.com/nfl. Additionally, fans who need help setting up NFL Mobile Live, or those with additional questions, can visit their local Sprint Store to get a one-on-one tutorial from a trained associate with Sprint’s Ready Now retail program.

About 

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two wireless networks serving more than 48 million customers at the end of the third quarter of 2009 and the first and only 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; industry-leading mobile data services; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. The company’s customer-focused strategy has led to improved first call resolution and customer care satisfaction scores. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.

(1) “Dependable” based on independent, third-party drive tests for 3G data connection success, session reliability, and signal strength for the top 50 most populous US markets (including PR) from January 2008 to July 2009. Not all services are available on 3G, and coverage may default to a separate network when 3G is unavailable.

Source: Sprint