Demonstrating that sports info can be just a flick of a wrist away, Microsoft announced the kickoff of sports content for its Smart Watches for MSN Direct. Sports fans who subscribe to the MSN Direct service can sign up to receive the latest information from ESPN on their favorite basketball teams, including updated scores, standings, game times and more.
MSN Direct
currently offers content for the National Basketball
Association (NBA), the Women's National Basketball
Association (WNBA), and men's and women's NCAA basketball
(Division I) teams. MSN Direct subscribers can follow their favorite
teams and receive updated information before, during and after
the game, including a pregame preview, game times, continual
game updates, final scores with a post-game recap, and details
on top scorers. Subscribers also can track playoff games and
receive the latest standings and statistics. In the near future,
Microsoft says that subscribers will be able to sign up to receive ESPN content
for Major League Baseball (MLB), National Football League (NFL), NCAA football
and National Hockey League (NHL) games.
"The Smart Watch is the perfect timepiece for passionate sports fans who can't be there to watch the game, but still want to follow the action," said Eric Lang, general manager of the Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT) initiative at Microsoft. "We are proud to offer the first of what will be many new channels of information available from MSN Direct."
The new sports channel complements the existing MSN Direct content of news, weather, personal messages, calendar appointment reminders and stock quotes. MSN Direct subscribers can add the sports channel to their current preferences on msndirect.com, where they can also personalize which teams and content they receive. New customers can choose from two MSN Direct pricing options: a monthly subscription rate of $9.95 (U.S.) per month with the first month free, or a payment of $59 (U.S.) for a full year of service.
3/23/04 Wayne N. Kawamoto, Managing Editor
Smart Watches for MSN Direct 3/23/04
