The Central Hockey League (CHL) and Network Foundation Technologies (NFT) today announced that they will partner once again to provide fans with the CHL Network for the 2008-09 season. Last season, the two entities unveiled NiFTy Online Television (the first “FREE-for-View” Internet broadcast in professional hockey) and this season the broadcasts will feature a higher resolution for improved quality.
The new, updated CHL Network player will be available for download on Monday, October 13th at www.nifty-tv.com/chl/.
“Last season was a revolutionary year for the CHL providing fans free internet broadcasts,” said Bob Hoffman, CHL’s Director of Communications. “We were very fortunate to showcase the outstanding talent and product that we can present on the ice and were very pleased with the number of fans that tuned in.”
Broadcasts will begin with the league’s opening night on Friday, October 17th and will continue through the Ray Miron President’s Cup Finals. The 2009 CHL All-Star Game from Loveland, Colorado (hosted by the Colorado Eagles) will also be available for internet view through the CHL Network.
The CHL Network provides world-wide access to all CHL regular season and playoff games at no cost to the viewer. Fans are able to view the entire game with the choice of listening to either the home or away radio announcer. A complete CHL schedule of game is available at www.centralhockeyleague.com.
More than 500,000 fans took advantage of watching their favorite CHL team last season at no charge.
“CHL’s online audience numbers with NFT’s FREE-For-View model are now 40 times higher than they were when using Pay-Per-View,” said Dr. Mike O’Neal, Founder and Chief Scientist of NFT. “For the 2008-09 season we will be rolling out a whole new version of the CHL Network player. This new version of CHL Network supports a bit rate twice as high as was used last season, and as a result picture quality will be substantially improved over last season – especially in full-screen mode. The fans are ‘pumped’ and we have no doubt that the league’s audience – both in and out of the stadium – will continue to grow steadily.”
About Network Foundation Technologies, LLC
Network Foundation Technologies, LLC (NFT: pronounced ‘NiFTy’) is a name that is quickly becoming synonymous with the online broadcasting of large, live events to worldwide audiences. NFT’s patented technology overcomes the scalability and cost bottlenecks associated with online broadcasting, enabling the company to bring large-scale, advertiser-supported, television-style broadcasting to the Internet for the very first time. Please visit NiFTy-tv.com for more information.
About the CHL
The CHL will be entering its 17th season of play this fall, with 16 member teams across nine states. The CHL saw more than 2.3 million fans attend games during the 2008-09 season and has led North American professional ‘AA’ hockey leagues in average attendance for six of the past seven seasons. In 2009, the CHL will welcome Independence, Missouri and Allen, Texas as expansion teams for the 2009-10 season. The CHL is administered by a wholly-owned subsidiary of Global Entertainment Corporation (AMEX: GEE), a company engaged in sports management, multi-purpose events and entertainment center and related real estate development, facility and venue management and marketing, and venue ticketing. For more information about the CHL visit the league’s website at www.centralhockeyleague.com.
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