(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — In a consumer wireless data service first, Bon Jovi's December 17 concert from the MCI Center in Washington, DC will be able to be accessed, free of additional charge, via Sprint TV multimedia devices and for Sprint MobiTV subscribers. (Normal Sprint PCS Vision data access charges will apply). Sprint is the exclusive sponsor of Bon Jovi's "Have a Nice Day" tour, which runs through March 2006.
Using Sprint PCS Multimedia Services and powered by MobiTV, the live video will begin at approximately 8:30 pm EST. The band's entire performance, encores included, will be shown on Sprint TV Channel 33 in the Music Video category.
"The relationship with Sprint not only puts our music in the palm of fans' hands through full-track music downloads and ringers, but now gives them an exclusive opportunity to experience a live Bon Jovi concert, for the first time ever, on a wireless phone," said Bon Jovi manager Paul Korzilius. "And because this is a sold-out tour, that's the next best thing to having a physical ticket."
"Sprint's sponsorship of Bon Jovi's 'Have a Nice Day' tour has allowed us to bring compelling wireless content to our customers and Bon Jovi fans nationwide," said Laurie Thompson, director of entertainment marketing for Sprint. "In fact, this unprecedented broadcast by Sprint demonstrates that our vision of a 'third screen' is a reality, and Bon Jovi fans will be among the first to realize what this will mean for the future of entertainment."
"Streaming the Bon Jovi concert live to our customers represents another milestone in the development of consumer wireless data services and continues Sprint's legacy of innovation," said Leslie Stafford, general manager of streaming music for Sprint. "Sprint was the first to offer live TV and streaming music over a mobile phone and is now the first to offer an exclusive, full-length rock concert to a mobile phone."
Sprint and MobiTV were the first to launch TV services to the mobile phone and recently expanded their relationship to continue offering TV content that will be available on both the Sprint Nationwide PCS Network and the Sprint Power Vision(SM) Network. The two companies each won The Emmy( Engineering Award for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Development from The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, marking the first time the wireless industry has achieved such high-profile recognition from the entertainment industry. –Jane Cohen and Bob Grossweiner
