Sports fans who subscribe to the MSN Direct service can now sign up to receive the latest information from ESPN on their favorite basketball teams, including updated scores, standings, game times andmore. With detailed information and data delivered direct to their Smart Watch, fans can keep a pulse on their favorite teams while on the go, in a restaurant, at a meeting or wherever they don’thave access to a television or radio. “Sports fans love to track their favorite teams and players, and now Smart Watches for MSN Direct allow them to do that and even more on their watch. TheSmart Watch is the perfect timepiece for passionate sports fans who can’t be there to watch the game, but still want to follow the action,†said Eric Lang, general manager of the Smart PersonalObjects Technology (SPOT) initiative at Microsoft. “We are proud to offer the first of what will be many new channels of information available from MSN Direct.†MSN Direct currently offerscontent for the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), and men’s and women’s NCAA basketball (Division I) teams. MSN Direct subscribers can followthe teams that matter most to them and receive updated information before, during and after the game, including a pregame preview, game times, continual game updates, final scores with a post-gamerecap, and details on top scorers. Subscribers also can track playoff games and receive the latest standings and statistics. In the near future, subscribers will be able to sign up to receive ESPNcontent for Major League Baseball (MLB), National Football League (NFL), NCAA football and National Hockey League (NHL) games. Microsoft is working with ESPN, the leading provider of sportsinformation on the Internet, to provide the content for the MSN Direct sports channel. With its immense database of information, ESPN is able to offer complete, thorough and up-to-date informationfor a wide range of sports and divisions. “We are pleased to be working with Microsoft to deliver rich stats, standings, updates and more to sports fans around the nation,†said RickAlessandri, senior vice president and general manager at ESPN Enterprises. “We believe the Smart Watch is a fun device to receive sports information and are excited to see ESPN’s content on thewrists of sports fans.†The new sports channel complements the existing MSN Direct content of news, weather, personal messages, calendar appointment reminders and stock quotes. Smart Watchesand the MSN Direct service allow people to conveniently and discreetly receive the information that matters most to them, with just the flick of a wrist. MSN Direct subscribers can simply addthe sports channel to their current preferences on msndirect.com, where they can also personalize which teams and content they receive. New customers can choose from two MSN Direct pricing options: amonthly subscription rate of $9.95 (U.S.) per month with the first month free, or a payment of $59 (U.S.) for a full year of service.* Information about retail availability and service options forSmart Watches for MSN Direct can be found at http://www.msndirect.com/.
