HP Selects NBA for First-Ever Marketing Partnership with a Professional Sports League

Business Wire, Oct 13, 2008

Groundbreaking Multiyear Partnership Teams HP with NBA, WNBA and NBA Development League

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- HP (NYSE:HPQ) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced a new multiyear marketing partnership - HP's first with a major professional sports league - that will include the development of joint technology initiatives to enhance the overall game experience for basketball fans.

The agreement is among the NBA's most comprehensive marketing partnerships and encompasses all three of its leagues - the NBA, Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the NBA Development League (NBA D-League).

As "the NBA's Partner in Technology Innovation," HP will provide products and services from its broad portfolio for use in NBA, WNBA and NBA D-League operations throughout the United States. Additionally, HP and the NBA will work together in India, where, in July, the NBA held its first-ever event in the country, Basketball without Borders, its global basketball development and community outreach program. HP will also partner on specific marketing activities and programs in Africa, Canada, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.

The NBA will team with HP Labs, the company's central research arm, to develop innovative and meaningful integration of HP products into the game, while leveraging HP technology to bring NBA content to fans in new ways. New products and innovations will be tested and used in the WNBA and NBA D-League.

"HP is a real leader in technology innovation with an incredible commitment to research and development through their famed HP Labs," said Heidi Ueberroth, President of NBA Global Marketing Partnerships and International Business Operations. "HP is everywhere that NBA fans are, and they are the perfect partner to engage our tech-savvy fans through the latest in technology."

"The NBA bridges many cultures and countries, inciting fans' passion for the game of basketball," said Michael Mendenhall, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, HP. "This is not your typical partnership, it allows HP to work with the NBA and extend our reach to key audiences across multiple distribution channels and geographies while demonstrating our leadership in technology innovation."

The NBA and HP tipped off its partnership during 2008 NBA Europe Live presented by EA SPORTS, the NBA's four-country tour of preseason games in Europe. HP served as an official marketing partner of the NBA Europe Live games in Paris and London, and the NBA is using HP's technology for stats collection and game operations throughout the tour.

During the year, HP will also conduct integrated marketing programs throughout the NBA's major events.

Powering the NBA Game

Throughout the NBA, WNBA and NBA D-League seasons, HP products will play an integral role in capturing every play of every game in real time. HP Compaq 2710p Tablet PCs and HP Compaq 6530b Notebook PCs will be used courtside in all 48 arenas to record data and statistical information for more than 2,000 NBA, WNBA and NBA D-League games.

At the Official Scorer's Table courtside, HP Compaq 2710p Tablet PCs will be used to record more than 400,000 points, 160,000 rebounds and 80,000 assists during the NBA, WNBA and NBA D-League season combined. Additionally, HP touchscreen tablets will be used to record statistical events taking place on the court for all three leagues, which will total nearly one million events per season. All statistical information captured by HP products will be sent in real time to NBA.com, all team Web sites, NBA TV and thousands of media outlets around the world.

About the NBA

The NBA, founded in 1946, is a global sports and entertainment brand that features 30 teams in the United States and Canada. During the 2007-08 season, NBA games reached 215 countries and territories in 41 languages. The league's worldwide reach was also reflected last season in the 76 international players from 31 countries and territories on NBA rosters. Domestically, the NBA broadcasted 142 regular-season games on national television last season on ABC, TNT, ESPN and ESPN2.

NBA TV, launched in 1999 as the first 24-hour television channel created and operated by a professional sports league, is distributed to 80 countries. NBA merchandise is sold in more than 100,000 stores in 100 countries on six continents. NBA.com averages more than five million daily visits. More than 60 percent of the Web site's visitors come from outside the United States.

NBA Cares is the league's social responsibility initiative that builds on the NBA's long tradition of addressing important social issues in the United States and around the world. To date, members of the NBA family - including teams, current and former players, and the league office - have contributed more than 600,000 hours of hands-on volunteer service, raised more than $88 million for charity, and created more than 310 places where kids and families can live, learn and play through NBA Cares. NBA Cares works with internationally recognized youth-serving programs that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes, including UNICEF, the Make-a-Wish Foundation, and the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis.