100 Yard Blitz ESPN-HD - The Big Picture in Sports For Immediate Release September 1, 2005 ESPN HD AND ESPN2 HD UNVEIL THE 100 YARD BLITZ 100 PHILIPS HDTV's AND DIRECTV SERVICE TO BE GIVEN AWAY ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD have unveiled the 100 Yard Blitz, on the heels of the most prolific month ever in the history of high definition at ESPN with 61 live event telecasts in August. This morning on Mike and Mike in the Morning, Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg announced that ESPN's high-definition services will be giving away 100 packages, coupled with free DIRECTV® HD service for one year, every weekday morning at 8:40 a.m. ET until November 26, 2005. HOW TO WIN In every game or pre-game telecast that airs on ESPN and ESPN HD or ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD (simulcast services) viewers will see a codeword within a 10-second video promo. The viewer then logs on www.100yardblitz.com to register for the HDTV and DIRECTV service assigned to that codeword. Viewers will have to register separately for each of the 100 giveaways. At the time of registration, an instant on screen announcement and an email are generated telling the viewer to listen to Mike and Mike in the Morning on a specific day, time and station to see if he/she won a Philips HDTV plus DIRECTV service for one year. Every morning Mike and Mike in the Morning will award at least one package to a lucky winner. "We wanted to create a promotion across the various ESPN medias that is geared to driving viewership of our telecasts as well as increase awareness of ESPN's high-definition services," said Bryan Burns, vice president, strategic business planning and development, ESPN. "We are pleased to be able to work with Philips and DIRECTV to combine our assets to support the holiday selling season for high-definition television." ESPN2 HD will launch on DIRECTV Sept. 8, 2005 to coincide with the college football match-up between Oklahoma at Florida Atlantic at 7 p.m. EST. THE GIVEAWAY - 42" Philips HDTV - DIRECTV HD System - DIRECTV® programming (TOTAL CHOICE® and DIRECTV HD packages for one year) ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD will combine to deliver over 450 major events plus over 2,000 programs totaling more than 6,000 hours in high definition in 2005. The ESPN Digital Center, a 120,000 square foot, state-of-the-art, all digital high-definition facility at ESPN's headquarters in Bristol, Conn., began operation on June 7, 2004. The building contains over seven million feet of cable and three HDTV studios that are home to ESPN Bristol-based studio shows - SportsCenter, NFL Countdown, NFL PrimeTime, NFL Live, Monday Night Countdown and Baseball Tonight. All high-definition programming on ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD is delivered to cable systems and satellite providers in the 720p high-definition format. ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD schedule: http://media.espn.com/MediaZone/PressKits/HDlaunch/schedule.htm Photos and logos: http://media.espn.com/MediaZone/HDphotos.htm ESPN Media Contact: Catherine Sloane Brett - 860.766.4235 - [email protected]