New Online TV Channel for Dutch Hockey Play-Offs

The first
in a ‘best of three’ format in the Dutch field hockey finals will be starting this
weekend. By Sunday 20th May, the 2007 champions of the worlds’ strongest field
hockey league, the Dutch Rabo Hoofdklasse, will be known.

In
partnership with ABN AMRO Bank, one of the most significant field hockey
sponsors in the world, a dedicated internet TV channel will run during the
3-week play-off period on http://www.hockey-tv.nl, making highlights and event
activities accessible to field hockey fans all over the world.

Through
this on-line interactive, platform, viewers will be able to view highlights and
cast a vote to determine the “Best Goal of the Season”. Exclusive
programmes will be offered including previews of the play-offs, interviews and
specials on all four of the play-off teams.

Hockey-tv was created and developed by
bigdaddy, the sponsorship agency that represents ABN AMRO in the Dutch market,
in close cooperation with Fieldhockey TV, the only global Internet TV Channel
provider which 100 percent is dedicated to the Olympic sport of field hockey.

Fieldhockey.tv
is free to view and can be accessed from anywhere in the world, 24 hours per
day with a linear programming line up like any traditional television channel
with television-like quality. However, the channel also maximizes the benefits
of the internet medium, offering all programs as ‘video on demand’ so viewers
can watch what they want, when they want to.

Fieldhockey
TV was launched in October 2003 and was developed by Narrowstep, Inc., the
TV-on-the-internet company. Narrowstep’s technology, which delivers a
comprehensive tool set to help content owners monetize content, has been
implemented by more than 150 internet TV channels worldwide, including Terra,
one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world, ITV, the UK’s
largest commercial broadcaster, entertainment giant Virgin Media, specialty
cable channels such as the Sci-Fi channel, and HorseTV, as well as several
niche and industry specific sites such as Rome Reports, (the channel for the
Vatican), singlemalt.tv, The Outdoor Channel, The Martial Arts Channel,
cbean.com (featuring a Caribbean lifestyle), and bebin.tv (featuring
international culture and lifestyle content).

Richard
Denton, Managing Partner of bigdaddy, said, “I originally chose Narrowstep
as a partner because of their all-in-one solution for delivering a TV-like
experience over the internet. The quality of the video stream is unparalleled
in the industry and because of this, we are able to deliver the quality our
client requires.”

Worldhockey
Television can be accessed through the official website of the International
Hockey Federation, http://www.worldhockey.org. Fieldhockey TV can be accessed
at http://www.fieldhockey.tv.