April 4, 2005

NEW YORK - College sports is distinguished by its sense of passion, community and spirit, and these three traits are featured prominently within CSTV Networks, Inc.'s (www.CSTV.com) new Spring 2005 branding campaign from the award-winning agency TAXI being introduced this week. CSTV's first-ever national branding campaign features the network's first series of national advertising spots, which will run on CSTV and also in major college sports markets, and also includes radio, print and Internet extensions. CSTV, which celebrates the second anniversary of its launch on April 7, is also debuting its new brand identity that includes a new CSTV logo to carry through all of its media platforms, and is introducing its new brand message, "If it happens in college sports, it happens here," as well.

CSTV's Spring 2005 branding campaign illustrates how college sports affects student-athletes, their families, fans and alumni by using humor, satire and insight into sports culture. The campaign emotionally and creatively connects to that special place in one's heart held by college sports. CSTV's new look is timeless and energetic, grounded in the heritage of authentic collegiate sport yet uniquely identifiable in today's crowded field of sports branding.

The campaign was created by Paul Lavoie's Toronto-based agency TAXI. TAXI has been named Agency of the Year for the past three years in Canada, where it partners with clients such as Nike, BMW and Viagara, and is now CSTV's agency of record. TAXI opened its New York office in late 2004 with CSTV as its first New York-based client. The creative team for CSTV's Spring 2005 branding campaign consists of Kenny Herzog, creative director/writer, Jim Larmon, creative director/art director, and director Peter Darley Miller of @radical.media, which produced the spots.

"We launched CSTV two years ago as the only sports media company not beholden to professional sports," said Brian Bedol, president and CEO, CSTV. "Our new campaign celebrates college sports and its various attributes in some unexpected ways, while delivering a message that could only come from CSTV."

"CSTV recognizes that college sports crosses generations and affects different people in very different ways," said Karen Cartales, senior vice president, marketing, CSTV. "For children it's aspirational, for athletes it's transformational and for lifelong fans it's inspirational."

CSTV's New Promotional Spots

"Father/Son" - This aspirational spot highlights the special bond that college sports create within a family. While playing a game of baseball catch, the father tells his son that his plans are to "...pull you out of school, hire a big-time agent...and we're going to hold out for the biggest pro sports contract possible!" The spot closes with the tagline "Don't Let Pro Sports Happen To You."

"Fight Song" - This spot introduces CSTV through entertaining highlights and music authentic to college sports. CSTV takes the world-famous Notre Dame fight song and updates the lyrics to accentuate college sports' attributes: "Here it's for the love of the game; when it's for money, it's not the same!" and ends with "If it happens in college sports, it happens here."

"Megaphone - Notre Dame" - Once it's inside you, it never goes away; it will always be a part of your makeup. An elderly man standing at the 50-yard line holds up a megaphone with the Notre Dame emblem on it. The man places the megaphone over his heart, at which time the viewer hears the Notre Dame fight song, prompting the tagline "Real spirit lies within."

"Reporter" - This spot exemplifies student-athletes' playing for the love of the game and the positive impact college sports has on you. A student-athlete just led her team to the national field hockey championship; when a reporter asks her where she's going next, she enthusiastically replies, "I'm going to my dorm, to study for my calculus final!" The spot concludes with the tagline "Welcome to the Wonderful World of College Sports."

CSTV Networks is a multi-media company that consists of the first-ever 24-hour college sports television network, College Sports TV; the leading college sports online network, the CSTV.com Broadband Network; and the first ever 24-hour college sports radio network, SIRIUS College Sports Radio. Through its numerous platforms, CSTV provides more live college sports games, events, news, information, analysis and broadband content, and reaches more college sports fans, than any other company.

College Sports TV, voted by cable operators as the No. 1 emerging cable network in a 2003 Beta research study, televises regular season and championship event coverage from over 35 men's and women's sports across every major collegiate athletic conference, as well as many NCAA and NAIA Championships.

CSTV.com, the most-trafficked college sports Web site, and the CSTV.com Broadband Network consisting of 183 affiliate colleges and athletic conferences, are the No. 1 online source for college sports broadband content, news, information, scores and analysis. SIRIUS College Sports Radio broadcasts a comprehensive package of college football and basketball games from teams representing 16 conferences, including the Big Ten, Big 12, BIG EAST, Pac-10 and SEC, in addition to Notre Dame.

CSTV Networks was co-founded by President and CEO Brian Bedol, Chairman Steve Greenberg and Executive Vice President Chris Bevilacqua. Bedol and Greenberg co-founded Classic Sports Network, which they sold to ESPN. It is now ESPN Classic. Bevilacqua is a former senior executive with Nike Inc., where he headed the company's successful foray into the college market.