The arenafootball2 League (af2) and Network Foundation Technologies (NFT) are pleased to announce the renewal of their partnership for the 2009 season that will once again bring the action of af2 football into the homes of fans worldwide. The FREE-for-View online network called "af2TV" will showcase every game of the league's 10th anniversary season live over the Internet beginning in March.
af2TV, powered by NFT's patented online broadcasting technology, was developed and successfully implemented in 2008. NFT's unique set-up is the Internet's most efficient and successful method available for broadcasting live events. The technology makes it possible for af2 games to reach unlimited audiences in geographically diverse areas of the globe. In the inaugural season of af2TV, close to 250,000 online viewers from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and 40 nations from five different continents logged in to view af2 games throughout the 2008 season.
"We (af2) are very pleased to be extending our partnership with NFT," af2 President Jerry Kurz said. "Based on our overwhelming viewership numbers and positive fan feedback, the premiere season of af2TV was a tremendous success. This free network has allowed us to expose our high-quality brand of football to an audience far greater than we ever thought possible under our previous Pay-Per-View model."
With the increased demand from online viewers, NFT will continue to improve its technology for the 2009 season by rolling out a whole new version of the af2TV player with all-new features to enhance the viewing experience.
"This new version of af2TV will support 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. NFT is also in the process of adding an all new Video-On-Demand feature to enable fans to rewatch games from earlier in the season," said Dr. Mike O'Neal, Founder and Chief Scientist of NFT.
In addition to providing home and away game coverage for 450+ broadcasts, NFT also co-sponsored a highly successful midseason sweepstakes that awarded loyal online fans with a number of prizes which included autographed footballs and helmets. The "Click, Connect & View Your Way to ArenaCup9" sweepstakes also awarded an exclusive VIP trip to ArenaCup to two lucky contestants at the end of the season.
