Go.com Launches EXPN Brand With New Web Site Targeting Action Sports Community.Business Editors/Internet Writers &Columnists NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 3, 2000 Beta EXPN EXPN Expand .com Site Debuts In Conjunction With Winter X Games X Games Sports medicine The official Olympics of 'extreme sports' sponsored by ESPN, held annually during the summer. See Extreme sports. ; ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network &ESPN2 To Offer Interactive &uot;EXPN&uot;-Branded TV Programming GO.com (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :GO) has launched the EXPN brand revolving around a new EXPN.com Web site dedicated to action sports enthusiasts, lifestyles and events that will feature content, community and commerce. EXPN.com, complemented by interactive EXPN-branded programming on ESPN and ESPN2 &uot;co-produced&uot; by EXPN.com users, launched today in beta (test) format in conjunction with ESPN's fourth annual Winter X Games held February 3-6 in Mount Snow, Vermont. &uot;We expect EXPN to be the definitive name in action sports, and EXPN.com to be the premier online community for action sports athletes and enthusiasts, the number one place to interact, react, and transact,&uot; said George McQuistion, vice president and general manager, EXPN.com. &uot;Our efforts are tailored toward a demographic group that is both individualistic and community-oriented. EXPN will allow these users to imbue im·bue tr.v. im·bued, im·bu·ing, im·bues 1. To inspire or influence thoroughly; pervade: work imbued with the revolutionary spirit. See Synonyms at charge. 2. the site with their own voice, molding and shaping it as they see fit. It will also benefit from ESPN's promotional power and its proven track record with the X Games franchise.&uot; EXPN has reached content and promotional agreements with a number of athletes, including high-profile action sports personalities Mat &uot;The Condor&uot; Hoffman and Mike Vallely Mike Vallely (pronounced Val-ey-lee), a.k.a. Mike V, (born June 29, 1970) is a professional skateboarder who resides in Long Beach, California. He also is the singer in the rock band Revolution Mother. He is on the Element skate team as a pro. , to be part of its &uot;Freelance Athlete Network&uot; (&uot;FAN&uot;). EXPN also enjoys the resources of TransWorld, publisher of numerous action sports magazines, the Aggressive Skaters Association (ASA Asa (ā`sə), in the Bible, king of Judah, son and successor of Abijah. He was a good king, zealous in his extirpation of idols. When Baasha of Israel took Ramah (a few miles N of Jerusalem), Asa bought the help of Benhadad of Damascus and ), and top women's action sports magazine, Wahine wa·hi·ne also va·hi·ne n. 1. Hawaii A Polynesian woman. 2. Sports A woman surfer. [Hawaiian, from Proto-Polynesian *fafine. , among others. Among the sports featured prominently will be snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing, BMX BMX abbr. bicycle motocross BMX Noun 1. bicycle motocross: stunt riding over an obstacle course on a bicycle 2. , aggressive in-line skating and skiing. Convergent EXPN Internet and television programming will cater primarily to the 60 million consumers nationwide aged 12-24, the fastest-growing age group in the U.S. There are 56.6 million action sports participants in the U.S., including approximately 35 million between the ages of 12-34. EXPN.com's three sports channels - Street, Water and Snow -- are produced by the Freelance Athlete Network: action sports enthusiasts themselves, keeping true to the self-expressive, pro-active attitude prevalent among the target audience. EXPN.com will combine content such as event news and results, athlete bios, interviews and product reviews, while simultaneously creating an online community via bulletin boards and chat rooms. &uot;Normal,&uot; EXPN.com's online lifestyle magazine, contains fashion, music, art, video game, gear and food reviews, travel information, sport culture antique information, medical information, and an ongoing comic strip comic strip, combination of cartoon with a story line, laid out in a series of pictorial panels across a page and concerning a continuous character or set of characters, whose thoughts and dialogues are indicated by means of "balloons" containing written speech. , &uot;Monster Planet.&uot; The service will also house an e-commerce section in the near future offering action sports gear such as skateboards and surfboards, apparel, and other lifestyle merchandise. EXPN PROGRAMMING ON ESPN2 Co-produced by EXPN.com users, EXPN 2Day launches Thursday, February 17 (10:30 p.m. ET) on ESPN2 with a recap of the Winter X Games. Going forward, the monthly EXPN 2Day will be a news, information and lifestyle program hosted by popular bike stunt athlete Rick Thorne, with segments taped at a sports or lifestyle event each month. Visitors to EXPN.com can vote on what athlete feature they want to see each month, what tricks they'd like to see executed and explained by top pros, and can even submit future story ideas. In addition, fans will be encouraged to upload to EXPN.com digital video or still photos of themselves doing alternative sports to be used in EXPN 2Day music videos. This concept was introduced at the 1999 X Games in San Francisco on ESPN.com. X.B.S., a monthly show premiering on ESPN2 Friday, February 25 (3:30 p.m. ET), will consist of interviews with two high-profile action sports athletes each show within a one-on-one interview setting. It will be hosted by X Games commentator Paul Higgins. EXPN.com users will be directed to submit questions to be answered on the show, as well within a complementary live audio Webcast on EXPN.com. EXPN 2Day and X.B.S. will also air on ESPN. EXPN's CONTENT AND PROMOTIONAL ALLIANCES -- TransWorld, publisher of action sports magazines such as Snowboarding, TransWorld Surf, Skateboarding, Freeze, TransWorld Surf Business, Ride and Snap, as well as numerous Web sites, including skateboarding.com and snowboarding-online.com -- Aggressive Skaters Association (ASA), which conducts a domestic pro tour, international tours and amateur tours; EXPN is the title sponsor of the ASA Amateur Tour -- Wahine, a women's action sports magazine -- Weather.com, official site of The Weather Channel -- Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting oceans, waves and beaches EXPN.com is the presenting sponsor of the 2000 CFB CFB Canadian Forces Base Bike Stunt Series, whose pro and amateur events will be held through July in Merritt Island, Fla., Raleigh, N.C. and Camp Woodward, Pa. Sponsored by Hoffman Bikes, a Mat Hoffman business, the CFB Series will be featured within ESPN and ESPN2 programming later this year, and will also be covered extensively on EXPN.com. EXPN will benefit from the unparalleled promotional resources of GO.com and ESPN, Inc. GO.com's numerous Web sites boast a reach of more than 21 million unique users per month (December 1999 Media Metrix), with ESPN Internet Group owning a reach greater than its three nearest Internet sports competitors combined (December 1999 Media Metrix). ESPN operates four domestic cable networks, ESPN Radio Network and ESPN The Magazine ESPN The Magazine is a bi-weekly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in New Britain, CT in the United States. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998. . TransWorld, Wahine, ASA and other associates will promote EXPN.com through their various media platforms and events. The fourth annual Winter X Games feature more than 300 athletes competing for medals and prize money at Mount Snow, Vermont February 3-6, 2000. Athletes will compete in 16 events in five sports: snowboarding, skiing, snow mountain biking mountain biking Sports medicine A sport in which participants use specialized bicycles to navigate rough, steep trails covered with unforgiving rocks Injury risk Concussions, fractures, death. See Extreme sport, Novelty seeking behavior. , skiboarding and snowmobile snocross. Including re-airs and an encore presentation, a total of 103.5 hours of programming will be generated from the 2000 Winter X Games. GO.com was created as part of the recent merger between Infoseek Corporation and The Walt Disney Company's online unit, Buena Vista Internet Group (BVIG). GO.com oversees many of the Web's most popular sites and services, including the GO Network portal, ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. .com, ABCNEWS.com, Disney.com, Disneystore.com, DisneyTravel.com, ESPN.com, EXPN.com, NFL NFL abbr. National Football League NFL (US) n abbr (= National Football League) → Fußball-Nationalliga .com, NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= .com, NASCAR NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), organization that sanctions American stock-car races, est. 1948. It held its first race in Daytona Beach, Fla. Online, ESPNstore.com, ABCsports.com, Family.com and Mr. Showbiz. This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995. These statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties, including those relating to GO.com, strategic changes in GO.com' s operations and factors beyond the Company's control, including technological, regulatory and economic developments. Any of these factors may materially adversely affect the development of Internet-related businesses generally or the business, financial condition or results of operations of GO.com specifically. Accordingly, actual results may differ materially from the results indicated or implied in this release. More information about GO.com (NYSE:GO) and the risks arising from an investment in GO.com is contained in the most recent filings of The Walt Disney Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |
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