Interbike Announces Sponsor & Technical Partners of 2009 Media Center

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. – Sep. 16, 2009 – Interbike today announced new sponsorship and technical partnership agreements for its Media Center, a working news room on the show floor of the 2009 Interbike International Bicycle Expo, which runs from September 23-25, 2009 in Las Vegas at the Sands Expo and Convention Center.

Amgen Tour of California will be the title sponsor of the Media Center, and Universal Sports and Inside Cycling TV will provide the production and technical experience to provide live streaming and on-demand video content from the Media Center’s TV studio.

“Because of the incredible demand from the cycling community for news of what’s going on at Interbike, it’s developed into an amazingly vibrant and dynamic news hub at the show,” said Rich Kelly, Interbike marketing manager. “It’s really exciting to see the constant flow of endemic and non-endemic print, online and video media professionals using it to report on the trends and product innovations they see at the show,”

The Media Center was launched at the 2006 Interbike International Bicycle Expo. The 2009 Amgen Tour of California Media Center, powered by Universal Sports and Inside Cycling TV, will be a 30- x 70-foot booth, which includes a media work room and a TV studio interview area for media companies or exhibiting manufacturers to conduct, record or broadcast news about new products, celebrities, panel discussions, advocacy, etc.

Universal Sports will stream live content from Interbike through Interbike.com and UniversalSports.com. Universal Sports, a partnership between NBC Sports and InterMedia Partners, is the preeminent multiplatform destination for Olympic and lifestyle sports programming. With more than 1 million unique visitors per month to UniversalSports.com, this partnership will provide added exposure to exhibitors’ products at the show.

“We are excited to partner with Interbike and Inside Cycling TV to power the Amgen Tour of California Media Center at Interbike,” said Carlos Silva, president and COO of Universal Sports. “The Interbike Media Center is a successful trade show feature and something we’ve wanted to be a part of for a long time. There’s no better place to showcase our company’s reach and promote our ever-growing amount of cycling coverage.”

Universal Sports will also host a viewing lounge in the lower lobby level next to registration in the Sands Expo and Convention Center. The lounge will include seating areas, free coffee, and TV monitors showcasing cycling events on Universal Sports television network, including the primetime premieres of the UCI Road World Championships, as well as encore presentations of the 2009 Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España grand tours.

Inside Cycling TV, a division of Monde Productions, will provide the studio equipment and staff to help produce more than 12 hours of live online video streaming programming from TV studio users. Programming content will come from such news outlets as Dirt Rag, Quickrelease.tv, Rodale Publications, The Spokesmen and VeloNews, as well as industry/business related content from Bikes Belong Coalition, Bicycle Products Suppliers Association and from Interbike’s own program Good Morning Interbike.

“We’re looking forward to providing technical assistance to this year’s Media Center TV studio,” said Kevin Smith, founder and CEO of Inside Cycling TV. “Our goals are to help studio users produce entertaining and informative show coverage, provide added value to exhibitor’s show efforts and to create a multimedia experience for viewers during and post Interbike.”

Interbike’s Kelly adds, “Universal Sports’ reputation as one of the premier distributors of sports programming, Inside Cycling TV’s in-studio technical know-how, Amgen Tour of California’s sponsorship of this year’s Media Center, along with content provided by users of the TV studio, will provide some of the best Interbike coverage to date and valuable exposure opportunities for Interbike exhibitors.”

Amgen Tour of California Media Center
Powered by Universal Sports and InsideCycling.tv
Broadcast Schedule

Wednesday, September 23
8:30 – 9:00 a.m. Good Morning Interbike
10:00 – 10:30 a.m. Bicycle Leadership Conference
11:00 – 11:30 a.m. Amgen Tour of California
12:00 – 12:30 p.m. Universal Sports & Insidecycling.tv
1:00 – 1:30 p.m. The Spokesmen
2:00 – 2:30 p.m. Rodale Publications
4:00 – 4:30 p.m. Dirt Rag

Thursday, September 24
8:30 – 9:00 a.m. Good Morning Interbike
10:00 – 10:30 a.m. Quickrelease.tv
11:00 – 11:30 a.m. Amgen Tour of California
12:00 – 12:30 p.m. Universal Sports & Insidecycling.tv
1:00 – 1:30 p.m. Rodale Publications
2:00 – 2:30 p.m. VeloNews
3:00 – 3:30 p.m. Bikes Belong Coalition
4:00 – 4:30 p.m. Dirt Rag

Friday, September 25
8:30 – 9:00 a.m. Good Morning Interbike
10:00 – 10:30 a.m. VeloNews
12:00 – 12:30 p.m. Universal Sports & Insidecycling.tv
4:00 – 4:30 p.m. Dirt Rag

ABOUT INTERBIKE
Interbike (a business unit of Nielsen Business Media, the parent company of the Outdoor Retailer (OR), Action Sports Retailer (ASR), Health+Fitness Business, and Fly Fishing Retailer trade shows, is a full-service trade show company that creates, markets and produces high-quality expos and educational conferences. Producers of the OutDoor Demo and Interbike International Bicycle Expo, Interbike is the leading bicycle industry business-to-business event management company, bringing together top manufacturers, retailers, industry advocates and media to conduct the business of cycling. Now celebrating more than 25 years of successful events, Interbike (www.interbike.com) gathers more than 1,100 cycling-related brands and close to 23,000 total attendees annually.

The 2009 Interbike trade-only events begin with OutDoor Demo (September 21-22 in Boulder City), followed by the Interbike Expo, September 23-25 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, and OutDoor Demo East, October 8-11 at Roger Williams Park in Providence, Rhode Island.

ABOUT UNIVERSAL SPORTS
Universal Sports, a partnership between NBC Sports and InterMedia Partners, serves as the preeminent multiplatform destination for Olympic-related and lifestyle sports programming available on television and online. Universal Sports, available in 56 million homes, is in nine of the top 10 DMAs including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Francisco, Atlanta, Washington D.C., Houston, Seattle and Denver. Major world championship and Olympic qualifying events found on Universal Sports range from track and field, skiing, swimming, gymnastics, marathons and cycling, to volleyball, rowing, triathlon, fencing, speed skating and martial arts. UniversalSports.com delivers an immersive experience via live and on-demand competition coverage, as well as interaction with top athletes through blogs and in-depth access to Olympic sports news and information year round. For more information on the availability of the Universal Sports 24-hour television channel, please visit UniversalSports.tv.

ABOUT INSIDE CYCLING TV
Inside Cycling Television (ICTV) is the premier online cycling network that provides the fan an opportunity to shoot, upload and share videos with the world of cycling and beyond. Content is available from both professional editorial and user-generated content perspectives. Monde Productions, the ICTV creative and technical production team, is made up of cycling and entertainment veterans, who know how to deliver compelling content of top cycling races, will actively create professionally produced content for the site. This professional content will be complemented by user-generated content served through ICTV’s online network. This means fans can experience a race from every angle: professionally researched and produced content and through the experiences of their fellow enthusiasts, virtually propelling them into the action. For more information, please go to www.insidecycling.tv.

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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Chip Smith, SOAR Communications for Interbike, 801.523.3730(wk) / 801.597.7515(cell), csmith@soarcomm.com
Maura Lansford, SOAR Communications, 801.523.3730(wk) / 817.929.8123(cell), mlansford@soarcomm.com

INTERBIKE EUROPEAN MEDIA CONTACT
Uwe Weissflog, inMotion mar.com, +49(0)714 1913131(wk) / +49(0)170 3164035(cell), uweissflog@inmotionmar.com

UNIVERSAL SPORTS MEDIA CONTACT
Melisa Renee Mowry, Universal Sports, 240.396.1906(wk) / 773.919.7834(cell), mmowry@universalsports.com

INSIDE CYCLING TV MEDIA CONTACT
Nichole Smith, Inside Cycling TV, 480.226.4699(wk), nic@mondeproductions.com