BOSTON, Mass. - (February 1, 2005) - OLN® and the Boston Athletic
Association have announced a multiple-year partnership for OLN to
televise the Boston Marathon nationally, both live and tape-delayed,
beginning in 2005.
OLN will provide three hours of live, wire-to-wire coverage to North
American homes, making the Boston Marathon the only U.S. road race
to receive complete, live, national coverage.
"The Boston Marathon is the crown jewel of long distance running,"
said Gavin Harvey, President of OLN. "The epic spectacle of the
world's most prestigious foot race, the fierce drive of the planet's
most elite runners - this event is what OLN is all about."
"OLN's commitment to providing the best coverage of action sports
now brings the Boston Marathon to enthusiastic viewers who will
appreciate the traditions and history on which the race has been
built," said B.A.A. Executive Director Guy Morse. "Runners and our
audience will be pleased with OLN's production of the race and its
in-depth coverage."
The Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon and one of
the world's most prestigious road races. This year's event, which is
annually held on the Patriots' Day holiday, will be contested on
Monday, April 18. A maximum field of 20,000 participants will run
the historic and traditional point-to-point route from Hopkinton to
Boston, Massachusetts. An estimated 500,000 spectators line the
26.2-mile route each year, making the Boston Marathon one of New
England's most popular sporting events.
"In reaching an agreement to televise one the world's marquee
participatory sporting events, OLN has added yet another 'best in
class' event to our programming schedule," said Marc Fein, Senior
Vice President of Programming and Production for OLN. "OLN's
addition of the Boston Marathon to a roster that already includes
the Tour de France, USSA and FIS skiing, the PBR and the DAKAR
Rally, shows that the network is committed to premier specialty
sports programming in our genre."
Outdoor Life Network is owned and operated by Comcast, which is also
the nation's leading provider of cable, entertainment and
communications products and services, including in New England.
Comcast has sponsored the Patriots' Festival since 2002, when it
became Boston's cable provider.
Amy Banse, Comcast's Senior Vice President of Content Development
said, "The Boston Marathon represents all the passion and tradition
that makes OLN's content so compelling. This is an exciting
development for runners, viewers and fans across the country."
The Boston Athletic Association was represented in the negotiation
of the agreement by Clear Channel Entertainment Television (CCETV).
OLN is the leader in outdoor adventure and action sports television.
Now in more than 62 million homes, OLN is the home of best-in-class
events like The Tour de France, The Gravity Games, Professional Bull
Riders (PBR) and USSA Skiing. Owned and operated by Comcast
Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK), the Network offers exclusive
programming in four primary areas: Outdoor Adventure, Action Sports,
Field Sports and Bulls & Rodeo. OLN is distributed via cable systems
and satellite operators throughout the continental United States and
Hawaii.
For further information, contact:
Jack Fleming, Boston Athletic Association, (617) 236-1652, x2627;
mobile: (617) 694-8218 Amy Phillips, OLN, (203) 406-2509
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Special thanks to
Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services Director.
385 Oak View Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93111
(805) 696-6232, fax (805) 967-5958
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
http://www.runningusa.org
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