news

FA-Premier.com and BBC America Announce Content And Marketing Partnership

14:00 15/08/2000

Fast Web media are pleased to announce the signing of a content and marketing agreement with BBC America.

Under the terms of the agreement Fast Web Media will provide BBCAmerica.com with regular real time content from the FA Premiership in England, including news features, latest scores and previews, with links to FA-Premier.com. The most extensive Premiership news and archive search facility, utilising Fast Search, will also be available. BBC America will promote the activity on its cable TV channel in the US, which currently is available in over 10m US homes, as well as through its web site www.bbcamerica.com. Additional joint marketing and content initiatives planned between the two parties are expected to be announced in the coming months.

GET A REAL KICK OUTTA THE WEB! THE LATEST ENGLISH SOCCER NEWS NOW AT BBCAMERICA.COM All the drama, triumph, heartbreak and nail biting fanaticism of the English Premier League soccer has come stateside at www.bbcamerica.com through a new content partnership with www.fa-premier.com, the web's most popular soccer site with over five years of archives. As the new season of Premier League Soccer kicks off this Saturday, August 19, bbcamerica.com takes the field, offering daily feeds of scores, news of trades, latest statistics and current standings.

"There is nothing more British than soccer. We are over the moon to be teaming up with Fast Web Media and are sure this will score highly with our users. Another great addition reflecting the best of British on bbcamerica.com, said Parule Basu-Barua, Vice-President, Business Development & Online, BBC America.

"Over 40% of our million monthly users are already in the States, so to partner with BBC America seems a natural thing to do, bearing in mind their status and reputation. I am delighted to associate our unequalled content with them in a territory where soccer is so popular and the web a way of life," said Tony Meehan, CEO of Fast Web Media, owners of FA-Premier.com. Also new, amusements and prizes to kick off a brand new season of Playing the Field on BBC America. Created by VirtualGiveaway.com, users have to match the terms used for English football against American soccer lingo and vie for fabulous prizes including a trip for two to London on British Airways and BBC America gift baskets. In 5 weeks, BBCAmerica.com have acquired over 9000 members of which 73% have opted to receive BBC America promotional emails. In addition, over 104,000 games have been played to date, with players each spending an average of over 300 seconds interacting with the BBC America brand.

About BBC America

BBCAmerica.com is the virtual gateway to the best of British and the ultimate online destination for all U.S. anglophiles. From Britpop to Britshop - BBCAmerica.com provides a fresh and compelling range of unique e-tail opportunities featuring top UK brands, entertainment and news headlines from Britain's most trusted sources, plus all the latest on BBC America - the 24 hour U.S. cable channel.

About Fast Web Media

Fast Web Media is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fast Search & Transfer (www.fast.no); www.fa-premier.com is the world's most established soccer site, providing over a million monthly users worldwide with dynamic content from the FA Premiership for over five years.

About VirtualGiveaway

VirtualGiveaway, www.virtualgiveaway.com, is a leading provider of interactive advertising and marketing solutions that enable e-businesses to increase the interaction between online customers and their products; generate a list of members to market to; capture online consumers' attention; increase brand & product awareness; and capture online sales. Our solutions for online advertising generate a substantial increase in the ROI for online advertisers.

About FAST

Fast Search & Transfer ASA (FAST) creates the real-time search and filter technology solutions that are behind the scenes at some of the world's best known companies with the most demanding search problems. FAST's flexible and scalable integrated technology platform spans both Internet and enterprise customers, and elevates search to unprecedented levels. FAST closes the gap between information and action, connecting people to the relevant information they seek regardless of medium, in turn driving revenue and reducing total cost of ownership by effectively leveraging IT infrastructure for our clients and world-class partners. FAST search technology is currently deployed by a wide range of global customers and partners including BroadVision, eBay, Ericsson, IBM, Reed Elsevier (Scirus.com), Reuters, T-Online, and Terra Lycos. FAST has operations in the United States, Europe (Norway, Germany, UK), and Japan, and is publicly traded under the ticker symbol 'FAST' on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Please visit http://www.fastsearch.com/ for more information or see FAST in action at our technology showcase http://www.alltheweb.com/