Overland Park, Kan., and San Francisco ? 08/22/2006 Sprint (NYSE: S) subscribers looking to enhance their 58th Annual Primetime Emmy® Awards experience have a new, techno-charged option this year with Emmys® AirPlay Live from Sprint. Beginning Aug. 22, Sprint and AirPlay Network, Inc., will unveil the exclusive application, free of additional charge, creating an interactive entertainment experience that lets Sprint subscribers use their wireless phones as easy-to-use gaming devices to play along with the live Emmy Awards broadcast and prove their TV expertise.
The game marks the first time television viewers can use their wireless phones to play along and compete during the live broadcast of a television event. Starting today, viewers can text the word "Emmy" to number 7777 on Sprint or Nextel phones to access the game and view the line-up of this year's Primetime Emmy categories.
Emmys Airplay Live is designed to allow players to compete against reality TV host Jeff Probst. As the live action unfolds, players can see how their predictions compare with the outcome and how they stack up against Probst, a predetermined group or the national audience. Players accrue points for correct answers and also have the opportunity to score bonus points by answering trivia questions during the live broadcast of the show.
"Our partnership with AirPlay is creating the ultimate opportunity for fan engagement and is a perfect complement to our Emmys sponsorship," said Tom Murphy, vice president of sponsorship marketing for Sprint. "Sprint is constantly developing ways for subscribers to experience and interact with the things they love by bringing them closer to the action."
"AirPlay is thrilled to be launching our exciting new technology with Sprint and the Emmys Broadcast," said Morgan Guenther, chairman and chief executive officer of AirPlay. "For the first time ever, we're combining the immediacy of a live television event with the interactivity of the mobile phone people already have beside them ? watching television will never be the same."
"The Television Academy is always interested in bringing new technologies and new elements to each year's Emmy Awards telecast," noted Alan Perris, Chief Operating Officer of the Television Academy. "We think that Emmys Airplay Live from Sprint will offer terrific entertainment value in conjunction with our telecast."
Unique features of Emmys AirPlay Live include:
Emmys AirPlay Live is available on select Sprint PCS Vision, Power Vision and Nextel phones. Sprint is the official communications service provider to the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The 58th Annual Primetime Emmy® Awards, hosted by Conan O'Brien, will take place Sunday, Aug. 27, with a live broadcast on NBC at 8p/7c from Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
